In view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Supreme Court today stayed the annual Rath Yatra held in Puri, Odisha..While staying this year's Rath Yatra, the three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and Dinesh Maheshwari noted,"A procession of this magnitude cannot be permitted at the time of a pandemic."."The annual Rath Yatra this year is scheduled for June 23. The festivities usually go on for 20 days. Having regard to the danger and public safety of citizens, we direct State of Odisha to not conduct any Rath Yatra this year. There shall be no activity associated with the rath yatra during this period. Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allow it."Supreme Court.An Odisha-based rights organisation had moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the possible celebration of the annual Rath Yatra at Puri's Jagannath Temple on June 23, in the backdrop of increasing COVID-19 cases..Holding Rath Yatra in Odisha from June 23 will be "catastrophic" in light of rising COVID-19 cases: Plea in Supreme Court.Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, states in the order that "Article 25 of the Constitution of India itself confers the right to freely profess and propagate religionsubject to health"..Odisha Vikas Parishad, through Advocate Ranjeeta Rohatgi, had stated in its plea that all the rituals leading up to the Rath Yatra such as ‘Akshay Trutiya' and ‘Snana Purnima' have been allowed to be performed by the Odisha state government.Thus, the petitioner apprehended that there was a possibility that the Rath Yatra, which draws in lakhs of people, will also be allowed to take place..Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, urged the Court that some other ritual instead of the Rath Yatra can be permitted. However, Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the state of Odisha apprised the Court of the dangers of congregation if any celebration is held.Before ultimately staying this year's celebration, the Court noted,"We have experience that anytime something is allowed, people gather.".Stating that the religious festival had attracted a crowd of 10 lakh in 2019, the plea urges that if such an arrangement is repeated this year, then the results would be "catastrophic."."A religious congregation of such nature which has been specifically prohibited by the State Government vide its guidelines dated 01.06.2020 & 07.06.2020 and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India vide its guideline dated 30.05.2020, if allowed, will lead to catastrophic results and it will be very difficult on the part of the authorities to control the spread of virus thereafter."Plea filed in Supreme Court.Giving the example of the Tablighi Jamaat, the plea states that religious congregations can cause a spurt in COVID-19 cases."Thus, in order to avoid any similar instances of outbreak of COVID-19 cases, a religious gathering in the nature of Rath Yatra festival ought to be avoided.".[READ ORDER]
In view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Supreme Court today stayed the annual Rath Yatra held in Puri, Odisha..While staying this year's Rath Yatra, the three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and Dinesh Maheshwari noted,"A procession of this magnitude cannot be permitted at the time of a pandemic."."The annual Rath Yatra this year is scheduled for June 23. The festivities usually go on for 20 days. Having regard to the danger and public safety of citizens, we direct State of Odisha to not conduct any Rath Yatra this year. There shall be no activity associated with the rath yatra during this period. Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allow it."Supreme Court.An Odisha-based rights organisation had moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the possible celebration of the annual Rath Yatra at Puri's Jagannath Temple on June 23, in the backdrop of increasing COVID-19 cases..Holding Rath Yatra in Odisha from June 23 will be "catastrophic" in light of rising COVID-19 cases: Plea in Supreme Court.Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, states in the order that "Article 25 of the Constitution of India itself confers the right to freely profess and propagate religionsubject to health"..Odisha Vikas Parishad, through Advocate Ranjeeta Rohatgi, had stated in its plea that all the rituals leading up to the Rath Yatra such as ‘Akshay Trutiya' and ‘Snana Purnima' have been allowed to be performed by the Odisha state government.Thus, the petitioner apprehended that there was a possibility that the Rath Yatra, which draws in lakhs of people, will also be allowed to take place..Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, urged the Court that some other ritual instead of the Rath Yatra can be permitted. However, Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the state of Odisha apprised the Court of the dangers of congregation if any celebration is held.Before ultimately staying this year's celebration, the Court noted,"We have experience that anytime something is allowed, people gather.".Stating that the religious festival had attracted a crowd of 10 lakh in 2019, the plea urges that if such an arrangement is repeated this year, then the results would be "catastrophic."."A religious congregation of such nature which has been specifically prohibited by the State Government vide its guidelines dated 01.06.2020 & 07.06.2020 and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India vide its guideline dated 30.05.2020, if allowed, will lead to catastrophic results and it will be very difficult on the part of the authorities to control the spread of virus thereafter."Plea filed in Supreme Court.Giving the example of the Tablighi Jamaat, the plea states that religious congregations can cause a spurt in COVID-19 cases."Thus, in order to avoid any similar instances of outbreak of COVID-19 cases, a religious gathering in the nature of Rath Yatra festival ought to be avoided.".[READ ORDER]
