[BREAKING] Right of community will always take precedence over right of individual: Uttarakhand High Court stays Char Dham Yatra

The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday ordered a stay on the State cabinet decision of 25 June to allow local pilgrims to participate in the Char Dham Yatra on 1 July (Sachdanand Dabral v. Union of India). .The order was passed by a Bench of Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Verma after taking into account the imminent threat due to a possible third wave of COVID-19 pandemic. “As pointed out by the scientific community, the victims of the third wave will be children. The loss of a child is not painful only to parents but the nation at large. In case the Delta Plus variant is permitted to play havoc with the lives of our children, the nation is bound to lose part of its next generation. Such an apocalypse would adversely affect the growth of the country,” the Court noted. .After a detailed consideration of the facts and material on record, the High Court held that the balance of convenience in this matter lay with the people of the country at large It emphasised that should the predictions regarding third wave turn out to be true, children of the country could be affected and the damage will be catastrophic.It, therefore, stayed the State decision. “It is in the interest of the public to stay the operation of cabinet decision dated June 25 and to direct the government not to permit pilgrims to reach Char Dham temples," the order said. It also suggested live streaming of the ceremonies so that devotees can witness the same from their homes. A report was sought from the State regarding the same. .During the hearing of the case on Monday, the Bench also took exception to the affidavit filed by the State stating that the same was plagued with vague and unclear data.“The Government must be honest with the Court. It has purposely tried to mislead the Court with its data. The High Court cannot be taken lightly by the Government. You can be hauled up for perjury,” the Court said. .Chief Justice RS Chauhan noted that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the Kumbh Mela was very similar to the one submitted for the Char Dham Yatra pointing out the obvious concern of how the State had failed to implement the SOP for Kumbh. “Yet it is common knowledge that despite the best intentions of the State Government the district authorities singularly failed to implement the SOP. A large segment of the pilgrims neither wore a mask nor maintained social distancing nor used sanitisers or soap to wash their hands. In fact, lakhs of people were permitted to gather at the banks of the Holy Ganges and bathe,” the Court noted. .The Bench further highlighted the lapses on the part of the Uttarakhand government during Ganga Darshan. The Court observed that there were glaring examples of the State government’s inability to implement its own SOPs despite their repeated reassurance.“Even recently, on the occasion of Ganga Darshan a crowd of more than 1 Lakh congregated together at Haridwar to take a holy bath in the Ganges. Even then the crowd failed to adhere to the SOP and the civil administration failed to strictly implement SOP. This is the fourth occasion that the State Government is promising that the SOP would be implemented strictly,” the Court said. .The High Court also revisited the devastation caused in the State of Uttarakhand after the Kumbh Mela, visuals from which caused embarrassment to the country and shocked the world community.“Suddenly our country was painted as a renegade, and as an irresponsible member of international community. Suddenly, flights coming from India were stopped by other countries.”.The Court also questioned the State with respect to implementation of the 'dos and don'ts' laid down in the SOP. As per the procedure, there is a ban imposed on gutka, pan and tambaku but no clarification was provided in the affidavit or the hearing regarding how people will be prevented from chewing paa, gutka or tambaku in such a large crowd..Further, the Bench found the procedure for implementation of sanitisation and handwashing unclear.On being questioned regarding maintenance of Covid-19 protocol, it was submitted that best efforts will be made to ensure that compliance . However, the Chief Justice stated, “It is one thing to try and another to succeed. Can you assure us that if there is a death due to Covid-19 and the same is caused due to the Char Dham Yatra, you will compensate each such death with 4-5 Lakhs.”.It was observed that a similar question was raised regarding the Ratha Yatra in Orissa before the Supreme Court of India.“At that time, tackling the first wave, the Hon’ble Supreme Court directed the State of Orissa to ensure that all entry points to the city of Puri should be closed during the time of the Ratha Yatra in order to prevent people from joining the Yatra. The Hon’ble Supreme Court had also ordered a curfew in the city of Puri.”.After a detailed consideration of the facts, the High Court held that the balance of convenience in this matter lay in favour of interest of public at large and stayed the government decision. .The Court also recommended a safer alternative to the devotees to witness the Yatra from the comfort of their homes.“This Court is well aware of the high religiosity of our people. Therefore, on an earlier occasion this Court had suggested that keeping in mind, people’s devotion live-streaming of all ceremonies carried out at Char Dham should be done.”.Replying to the Advocate General's submission that live streaming of Char Dham is against the customs and prohibited by our Shastras, the Court stated that our ancestors were not aware of this technology and, therefore, the shastras could not have prohibited it. Further, it was noted that this approach is being implemented by several other temples across the country.“The government must ensure that live streaming is done throughout the length and breadth of the country.”A report was sought regarding the same which has to be submitted before the Court by the next date of hearing..The Bench also observed that since the Order of the State dated 25 June was not actually under challenge, it cannot be stayed. However, the Court shirked technical hurdles with the intent to protect citizens."Technicalities of law cannot come in the way of protection of the people. The writ petitions deal with the ways and means of containing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.. over a period of time, this Court has been monitoring the steps taken by the State Government for containing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.”.The Court listed the matter for further consideration on July 7..[Read Order]