Chaos could spread if Moharram procession is allowed: Supreme

We cannot endanger the health of people across the country for one society: Supreme Court

(PTI) New Delhi, Ta. Thursday, August 27, 2020

The Supreme Court, while refusing to allow the procession of Moharram in the country, said that if the procession was allowed during this difficult period of Corona, chaos would spread across the country and one society could be held responsible for spreading Covid-19.

The court also rejected the example of permission given to the rathyatra by the petitioner. The Supreme Court said it would not issue an order endangering the health of many people. The apex court had directed the Lucknow-based petitioner to go to the Allahabad High Court.

The apex court on Thursday rejected an application seeking permission to remove the Moharram procession, saying it could lead to chaos. Chief Justice SA Bobde said if a procession was allowed to take place on Muharram across the country, a society could be held responsible for spreading the Kovid-19 epidemic and we do not want that.

He also questioned how the Supreme Court could issue a ‘normal’ order for the entire country. In the Supreme Court, Chief Justice SA Bobade, Justices AS Bopanna and V.S. A bench comprising Ramsubramaniam was hearing the plea of ​​Uttar Pradesh Shia leader Syed Kalbe Jawad.

However, the court allowed the petitioner to withdraw his application asking him to approach the High Court seeking permission to march with limited number of people in Lucknow. This year Muharram will be celebrated on Saturday 29th August.

The petitioner had sought permission to hold Muharram processions across the country on Saturday and Sunday. The petitioner also cited the example of the Supreme Court allowing rath yatra in Odisha. However, citing the example of Rathyatra, the Chief Justice said, "You are referring to the entire Jagannath Yatra."

But the Jagannath Rathyatra of Puri was fixed at the same place and on the same route, where the chariot had to go from point A to point B. In such a case we ordered by assessing the risk. However, in this case also, the rathyatra was not allowed anywhere else in the state except Puri.

The problem in your case is that you are seeking permission for processions across the country. If you had asked for permission for a space we would have been able to assess its risks. The Chief Justice went so far as to say that we cannot endanger the health of the people of the whole country for one society. The apex court said that even the state governments were not in favor of the petition.