Bhubaneswar: As the Supreme Court of India on Thursday disallowed the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and His siblings in Puri and elsewhere in Odisha, here are the details of what exactly happened from the date the petition was filed.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) W.P. (C) No. 571 of 2020 filed before the Supreme Court of India praying to stay the holding of the Rath Yatra festival scheduled to commence on June 23, 2020, at Puri in Odisha had been listed on 18th June 2020 in Virtual Court No. 1 as item No. 11.
In the PIL, it was alleged that the Rath Yatra is one of the biggest annual religious congregations in the country and ten lakh devotees congregate to attend the festival, therefore, the guidelines/stipulations of the Government of India in the wake of Covid-19 Pandemic cannot be adhered to.
Apart from that, figures were provided with regard to the number of positive Covid-19 cases in the State of Odisha and it was averred that the positive Covid-19 cases are rising at an alarming rate.
When the matter was called out for hearing, the Chief Justice remarked that it is a serious case and needs the intervention of the Court. Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, sought for one day’s time to seek instructions in the matter.
At this stage, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing on behalf of the PIL Litigant submitted that this is a serious matter and needs the intervention of the court since holding of the Rath Yatra would defy all norms of the Government of India and there will be no adherence to social distancing.
At this stage, Senior Advocate Harish Salve appearing on behalf of the State informed the apex court that he was appearing on behalf of the State of Odisha. The Court thereafter wanted to hear Advocate Salve who stated that he had been briefed otherwise but has to rise above his brief.
Thereafter, Advocate Rohatgi impressed upon the Court that due to the present situation, the Rath Yatra should not be held on June 23, 2020. The Chief Justice then remarked that Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we do not pass an interim order staying the holding of Rath Yatra festival.
Thereafter there was a commotion amongst many Senior Advocates namely, Mahesh Jethmalani, Arijit Prasad and Hooda. At this point, when the Chief Justice started dictating the order, Advocate Salve requested the Court to permit the festivities to be carried on within the Temple premises, the order was dictated by the Chief Justice while all the Senior Advocates were arguing at the same time.
Finally, the Chief Justice concluded the order holding that there shall be no Rath Yatra in the temple town of Odisha or in any other part of the State this year.
