Supreme Court rejects petition seeking permission on Muharram processions across the county citing Covid-19

"If we allow this procession across the country there will be chaos and one particular community will be targeted for spreading the pandemic COVID-19," Chief Justice SA Bobde said, reported NDTV.

The Supreme Court was hearing a petition by Syed Kalbe Jawad from Uttar Pradesh, who was seeking an order permitting Muharram processions on Saturday and Sunday across the country, said the report.

"You are referring to the Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra, which was at one place and one set route. In that case, we could assess the risk and pass orders. The difficulty is you are asking for a general order for the whole country,” said the Chief Justice, the report quoted.

Justice Bobde said the court could not risk the health of all the people and had the petitioner sought permission for one place, the court could have assessed the risk.

The SC bench hearing the petition also pointed out that even the state governments were not a party to the petition while speaking on the difficulty of blanket permission.

The petitioner sought permission for a procession in Lucknow, where, he said, a large number of Shia Muslims live.

The court then said the petitioner should approach the Allahabad High Court to get permission for a procession in the UP state capital.