The Supreme Court today (July 16) asked the Uttar Pradesh government to apprise it by July 19 on whether it would reconsider its decision to hold a “symbolic” Kanwar Yatra in the state, saying the right to life is paramount.
A bench of Justices RF Nariman and B R Gavai said that it is of the prima face view that all kinds of sentiments are subservient to Article 21 of the Constitution. It said the “UP government cannot be allowed to hold Kanwar Yatra in view of Covid”. The top court's direction came after the Uttar Pradesh government told the bench that it has decided after relevant discussions to hold a “symbolic” Kanwar Yatra with appropriate Covid restrictions. The yatra is scheduled to commence on July 25.
The annual pilgrimage witnesses a heavy flow of pilgrims who put up bivouacs across Delhi and the northern belt of the country. The court said it wanted the State governments to clarify their stand on the conduct of the yatra amid a public health crisis.
The Court very early remarked that “The citizens of India are completely perplexed. They don’t know what is going on. And all this amid the Prime Minister, when asked about a third wave of Covid striking the nation, saying ‘we cannot compromise even one bit’,” the court remarked.
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