Supreme Court Dismisses All Pleas on Rath Yatra

Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed all petitions seeking permission to conduct Rath Yatra at other places apart from Puri Jagannath temple.

The Odisha government has permitted Rath Yatra only at Puri and allowed people to follow rituals within the temple premises in all other Jagannath temples.

Hearing the petitions challenging the Odisha Government’s decision of not allowing Rath Yatra at various places other than Puri, the SC Bench headed by CJI NV Raman agreed with the decision of the state government and refused to permit Rath Yatra across the state other than Puri.

The Odisha government had already informed SC that it would be impossible for the state to ensure observance of strict Covid protocol if Rath Yatra is allowed across the state.

Stating that he is a devotee of Lord Jagannath and wants to visit Puri temple for the last 1.5 years, CJI NV Raman said, “But the situation is such that I have to pray from a distance. If Rath Yatra is permitted it will be the devotees who could suffer and we don’t want to take that risk.”