Ahmedabad: In the wake of the Supreme Court allowing the Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra with restrictions, the plea to conduct the Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad was rejected for the third time in a row.
In a midnight hearing, Gujarat High Court Bench of Chief Justice Justice Vikram Nath and Justice JB Pardiwala has declined to grant permission for the conduct of Jagannath Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad for the third time.
While rejecting the applications, the Gujarat High Court observed that the situation in Puri and Ahmedabad cannot be compared.
After the Gujarat High Court refused to entertain a petition filed by the Hindu Yuva Vahini for modification of its stay order on taking out the Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad, two more pleas were filed in the court in this regard in wake of the Supreme Court allowing the Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra with restrictions.
A bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice J.B. Pardiwala had rejected the Vahini’s application to review their order on June 20 staying this year’s Ahmedabad Rath Yatra.
However, following the SC order, two other petitions were filed in the high court on Monday, seeking a similar relaxation to the Ahmedabad Rath Yatra and a modification in the bench’s stay order on June 20.
Swami Akhileshwardasji, who is Mahant of the Ramji temple in Saraspur, Ahmedabad and also a member of the All India Working Committee of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has filed a petition for reviewing its June 20 order and consider it taking into the apex court’s judgement.
Another applicant Kritesh Patel, a resident of Ahmedabad, has also filed a similar application on Monday, demanding an urgent hearing as Tuesday is the day for the procession.
Earlier in the day, the bench of Chief Justice Nath and Justice Pardiwala had refused the application of the Vahini which had sought the permission to allow three Raths to exit the temple premises and be allowed to pass along the shortest possible route, in a symbolic manner, without the involvement of the public.
The application seeking modification was rejected by the bench, stating that their order was passed in line with the Supreme Court’s order of June 18, regarding the Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra. This rejection was prior to the apex court’s modified order allowing the Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra, with restrictions such as a curfew and sealing of all entry points into Puri.
Meanwhile, the lord Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad had carried out all the preparations to hold the Yatra inside the temple premises. According to sources, Union Home Minister Amit Shah would have been participating in the ‘Mangla Aarti’ at the temple at 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning after arriving at the Ahmedabad airport at around midnight with his family from Delhi.
Gujarat Chief Minister Rupani was also slated to participate in the 143rd RathYatra and perform the ritual flagging off of the procession, ‘Pahind Vidhi’.