Yogi Vs Allahabad HC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court agreed to hear itself the plea of the Yogi lead Uttar Pradesh government against the Allahabad High Court order directing it to impose strict restrictions till April 26 in five cities amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde. Mehta, while referring to the high court’s order passed on 19th April, said that “a virtual lockdown is declared by a judicial order for a week”. He requested the bench to take up the matter during the day saying the matter relates to five big cities of the state. ‘Ok’, the bench said.

While mentioning the matter, Mehta told the bench that the state government is challenging the high court order. “Please allow me to circulate it today. These are five big cities,” Mehta said. The HC asked the state to impose strict restrictions including closing of malls, shopping complexes and restaurants till April 26 in five cities, but stopped short of calling it a “complete lockdown”. The court also slammed the state government for “not planning” for a second wave of the pandemic, and criticised the State Election Commission for holding the panchayat elections at this time and “exposing” poll officials to the threat of virus.

Passing restrictions for Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar and Gorakhpur cities, the two-judge bench comprising justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar, said these curbs are “nowhere close to a complete lockdown”. The court said in its order, “If we have not imposed a lockdown it does not mean that we do not believe in it. We are still of the view that if we want to break the chain a lockdown for a duration of at least two weeks is a must.”  “It is a shame that while the Government knew of the magnitude of the second wave it never planned things in advance,” observed the two-judge bench. (PTI)