Can’t reopen places of worship amid pandemic, state tells HC

MUMBAI :The state has refused to reopen places of worship – closed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic – the Bombay high court (HC) was informed on Thursday.

Government pleader Purnima Kantharia informed the bench of justice SJ Kathawalla and justice Madhav Jamdar that Kishore Nimbalkar, secretary of the disaster management department, has rejected the representations of two petitioners – Bhandup resident Ankit Vora and a Jain temple trust – who had requested the court to direct the state over the reopening of Jain temples on the occasion of the community’s nine-day Paryushan festival, which starts on Sunday.

Acting on the petitions by Vora and the trust, the bench had, on Tuesday, directed the secretary to consider their representations.

Nimbalkar has, however, said that the request cannot be acceded to in view of the prevailing situation in Maharashtra, which is the worst-affected state owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. In support of his claim, he has cited that until Tuesday, Maharashtra had recorded a total of 5.35 lakh Covid-19 cases, including 18,306 deaths.

The secretary has also claimed that the administrative machinery has already been stressed and overburdened, and it will be impossible to monitor strict compliance of the conditions to curtail the spread of the virus, which will result in the irreversible spread of Covid-19.

After his decision was communicated to the court, the petitioners requested the bench to consider allowing Jains to visit their temples only on the last day of Paryushan. The bench refused to consider the request. “This is a very sensitive issue. We will have to be very careful,” said the bench. The judges clarified that they had ensured that the petitioners had the opportunity to make a representation and get the state authorities to decide on it. The bench said that it cannot accede to the request of the petitioners even for the limited relief, as it will open floodgates of petitions seeking similar relief.