The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an earlier Allahabad High Court order imposing lockdown in five cities in Uttar Pradesh. The verdict came while hearing the plea of the Uttar Pradesh government against the order, which mandated curbs till April 26 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. The apex court asked the state of Uttar Pradesh to submit before the high court the various steps and measures taken to control the pandemic, within a week.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde. Mehta, while referring to the high court's order passed on Monday, said that a virtual lockdown is declared by a judicial order for a week. He requested the bench to take up the matter during the day saying the matter relates to five big cities of the state.
The high court had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to impose strict restrictions including closing of malls, shopping complexes and restaurants till April 26 in five cities, but stopped short of calling it a "complete lockdown". Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar and Gorakhpur are the cities in which the high court has directed curbs. The high court had said these curbs are "nowhere close to a complete lockdown".
-Inputs from PTI
