New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined permission for carrying out Muharram procession across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying that “it will not pass orders that could risk the health of so many people”.

A three judge bench, which included Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice AS Bopanna and Justice V Ramasubramanian, said that “it would lead to chaos” in the country and “one particular community would be targetted” for spreading the dreadful coronavirus.

The apex court, which was hearing a PIL was filed by Shia leader Syed Kalbe Jawad, asked the petitioner to withdraw the plea and allowed him to approach the high court with limited prayer of holding procession in Lucknow.

“You are asking for a general order and then if we allow this there will be chaos. Particular community will be targetted for spreading Covid. We don’t want that. We as a court cannot risk the health of all the people,” the top court said, as reported by news agency PTI.

The petitioner, however, cited the top court’s orders passed in relation to the Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra and the Jain Temples in Mumbai during Paryushan and urged the bench to allow permission for Muharram procession.

The Bench, however, dismissed his plea, saying “a general order for the whole country cannot be passed owing to the extraordinary circumstances of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic”.

“You are giving Jagannath Puri example, there it was in one place and one set route where the Rath had to be drawn. We could assess the risk involved and pass the specific order for only Puri. In Jain Temple matter, it was for three temples only and five people at a time,” the Bar and Bench quoted CJI Bobde as saying.

Posted By: Aalok Sensharma