August 27, 2020: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest litigation seeking permission for taking out Muharram processions, saying a general direction for the entire country in this regard will lead to chaos.

A three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice SA Bobde said, "If we allow this procession across the country there will be chaos and one particular community will be targeted for spreading the pandemic COVID-19".

The Supreme Court was hearing a petition by Syed Kalbe Jawad from Uttar Pradesh, who cited the June order permitting the Rath Yatra festival in Odisha.

The Chief Justice said, "You are referring to the Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra, that was at one place and one set route. In that case we could assess the risk and pass orders. The difficulty is you are asking for a general order for the whole country."

He also added, "We cannot risk the health of all people. If you had asked for one place, we could have assessed the risk."

The petitioner asked for permission for a procession in Lucknow, saying that a large number of Muslims of the Shia community live in the UP capital. The Supreme Court said the petitioner should go to the Allahabad High Court for permission.

Last week, the top court allowed Jains to offer prayers at any one of three temples in Mumbai as part of festivities surrounding the eight-day Paryushan festival. The top court said prayers could be offered as long as SOPs like the use of face masks and physical distancing were strictly enforced.