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Case Name: Dr Nishikant Dubey v. Union of India
A plea was filed seeking opening of Baba Baidhyanath Jyotirlinga Temple convene the Shravani Mela by allowing public participation, dismissed by The Jharkhand High Court. Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad observed that, if a large number of followers are given permission then it would be a very difficult situation not only for the state but also for the people at large. However, the bench has directed to conduct arrangements for online darshan of Lord Shiva during Shravani Mela starting from the opening day and to continue till the last day of the Mela.
Dr Nishikant Dubey, a member of parliament (Lok Sabha), filed a PIL seeking a direction from the government to open the Baba Baidhyanath Jyotirlinga Temple at Deoghar and Baba Basukinath Temple at Basukinath for Public Darshan and to allow the ‘Shravani Mela’ devotees to offer prayers during the Hindu month of ‘Shravan and Bhado’ with such precautions in the view of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
The petitioner relied on the order passed by the Supreme Court for Puri Jaganath, the court observed that there was a wide difference between Puri Rath Yatra and Shravani Mela. The court said that:
"In the Shravani Mela, the devotees use to lift sacred Ganges water from Sultanganj in the State of Bihar and travel about 50-60 k.m. They used to come to Baba Baidyanath Temple for pouring the sacred water upon Jyotirlinga and as such, it is quite impossible to think about avoiding the congregation of the people."
The court further added that unlike Puri Rath Yatra, the physical presence of devotees is of more importance for Shravani Mela. The court said that:
"In that view of the matter, this Court is of the view that no such direction for Shravani Mela will be appropriate to be passed taking into consideration the spread of threat of COVID-19 virus which according to us, if allowed, may cause great danger of the widespread of infection of COVID-19 virus and as has been expressed by the State of Jharkhand, through its limited resources, the State authorities are making efforts to put a check upon the spread of the virus. If such a large number of congregations would be allowed, the same would be a very difficult situation not only for the administration of the State of Jharkhand but affecting the people at large. "
Another argument was raised by the petitioner that despite the order passed by Ministry of Home Affairs to keep the religious paces open, Government of Jharkhand has taken a decision contrary to it and kept the religious places closed. Argument was rejected, the court said that the Central Government has left the decision upon the State/Union Territories to prohibit certain activities or to impose restrictions after assessing the situation.
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