Uttarakhand Govt moves Supreme Court against HC order staying Char Dham Yatra

The Uttarakhand Government has knocked the Supreme Court’s door to file the Special Leave Petition (SPL) against the High Court’s order halting the Char Dham Yatra, citing the prevailing COVID-19 situation, State government's spokesperson Subodh Uniyal said. 

The State decided to move to the apex court on June 30. The top court will hear the State’s plea in connection with the Yatra tomorrow. "The High Court may have banned the Char Dham Yatra but the government has approached the Supreme Court against it. Now only the Supreme Court will decide the matter," Uniyal said to ANI while moving to the top court.

As the daily number of COVID-19 cases has started to show a downward trend, and most of the other restrictions have been eased; the State government argues that they have made full arrangements regarding the Char Dham Yatra, and no provision has been left to ensure the safety of the devotees.

Dismissing the State’s request, the Uttarakhand High Court stayed the State Cabinet's decision permitting Char Dham Yatra with a limited number of pilgrims and also ordered live streaming of Char Dham shrines on June 28. The High Court has asked the government to file the affidavit again by July 7.

Before this, on June 25, the State Cabinet gave a nod to partially open the Char Dham yatra for locals in limited numbers from July 1. At first, it was decided, the yatra would be opened only for residents of Chamoli, Uttarkashi, and Rudraprayag districts, with only a limited number of devotees visiting every day.

The State government had said that it would be issuing guidelines for the pilgrimage for people from three districts. Government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal informed the three districts from where pilgrims were allowed were Chamoli, Uttarkashi, and Rudraprayag. The state is home to four Hindu pilgrimage sites, namely-- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri.  

(Image: PTI)