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The Orissa High Court on Wednesday declined to interfere with the State's decision to confine the conduct of Rath Yatra to the Lord Jagannath temple at Puri in view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation (Ratha Yatra Committee, Bhatli vs. Government of Odisha).
The petitioners had urged for allowing the conduct of Ratha Yatra in temples across the State of Odisha, in places other than Puri.
However, the Bench of Chief Justice Dr S Muralidhar and Justice SK Panigrahi was not inclined to grant the permission sought for, considering the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
“These are extraordinary times in which not just Odisha but the entire country is barely recovering from the second wave of the deadly Covid pandemic. The measures and precautions taken by the State of Odisha have to be viewed in the said context. Consequently, this Court is not inclined to entertain any of the prayers in any of the above writ petitions, praying for permission to hold their respective Rath yatras/festivals on parity with the temple of Lord Jagannath at Puri", stated the order.
The petitions before the Court challenged an order issued by the Office of Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), Government of Odisha informing that the Ratha Yatra would be conducted in the same manner as last year i.e., only in the Badadanda of Lord Jagannath Bije, Puri and nowhere else in the State.
The petitioners were devotees and sevayats of deities in various locations. They argued that since the surge of COVID-19 in their respective locations was far less than that at Puri, the conduct of Rath Yatra should be allowed in such areas outside Puri.
The Court, however, opined that it cannot sit in appeal over the State’s decision with respect to Ratha Yatra, while also noting that specific directions on the conduct of the Yatra in Puri were earlier passed by the Supreme Court in Odisha Bikash Parishad v. Union of India.
The High Court Bench further pointed out that the Lord Jagannath temple at Puri has special significance when it comes to the conduct of Rath Yatra.
“The temple of Lord Jagannath at Puri constitutes a class apart and has been implicitly recognized as such by the order dated 22nd June, 2020 of the Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition (Civil) No.571 of 2020 (Odisha Bikash Parishad v. Union of India) whereby specific directions were issued in relation to the holding of the Ratha Yatra in Puri in 2020, when the first wave of the Ciovid-19 was still on", the High Court's order stated.
With these observations, the writ petitions were dismissed.
Advocates Amit Prasad Bose, Prafulla Chandra Biswal, Suresh Kumar Pand and Akshaya Kumar Pandey appeared for the petitioners. Additional Government Advocate DK Mohanty appeared for the State.
[Read Order]