The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday refused to lift the ban on Char Dham Yatra after the state government sought permission to start the Hindu pilgrimage. The High Court in Nainital said that they cannot do anything as the case is pending before the Supreme Court. The Uttarakhand High Court had, on June 28, put a stay on Char Dham Yatra due to Covid-19 following which the state government filed a special leave petition in the apex court on July 6 against the order.
Advocate General SN Babulkar, representing the state government, appeared before Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar to make an oral appeal for lifting the ban on Char Dham Yatra. Babulkar reasoned that the livelihoods of thousands of people is linked with the pilgrimage, adding that several sectors in the state have reopened anyway.
The bench, however, noted that since there is already a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against their earlier order, they cannot consider lifting the ban.
The Char Dham Yatra encompasses the four sacred pilgrimages of Uttarakhand – Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. All four sites fall in the Garhwal region of the state.
The pilgrimage could not be organised even last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the second wave of the Covid-19 was subsiding when the Uttarakhand High Court ordered a stay on Char Dham Yatra, it said that there was a lack of coronavirus-related health facilities in the Char Dham districts. The court also feared that if the pilgrimage was allowed to take place, it may prove to be an invitation for the third wave.
Several other pilgrimages have also been restricted due to Covid-19. The Uttarakhand government itself had banned Kanwar Yatra in July this year. Neighbour Uttar Pradesh also followed suit after the Supreme Court’s intervention.
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