Mumbai, Sep 24 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Thursday
refused to intervene in the Maharashtra government's decision
to not open places of worship to the public in view of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice
G S Kulkarni said the court did not wish to interfere in the
state's decision keeping in mind the "prevailing situation" of
constant rise in coronavirus cases, even in rural areas.
The observation came after Advocate General (AG)
Ashutosh Kumbhakoni submitted that worshippers could not be
allowed to visit temples, or any other places of worship as
yet.
"Unfortunately, we are creating new records every day
(of number of positive coronavirus cases). It will not be
possible right now to open places of worship considering the
situation," the AG said.
The bench was hearing a PIL seeking that places of
worship be reopened to public and that the state government
ensure implementation of social distancing and other COVID-19
safety measures.
The plea filed by a local NGO through advocate Dipesh
Siroya had suggested that the state government limit the
number of devotees permitted to enter a place of worship at a
time.
In a previous hearing however, the state had said it
would not be possible to limit the number of devotees and that
there was no guarantee that the public would follow norms once
allowed inside places of worship.
The Chief Justice accepted the state's submission and
agreed that the rise in coronavirus cases was indeed alarming.
"Every day we are reading about the rise in numbers.
It is alarming. We get so many messages saying that the
situation in the state is bad," Chief Justice Datta said.
He further stated that the court had recently received
a WhatsApp video from one Omprakash Shete, who claimed to be
from the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Medical Assistance Cell.
In the video, Shete had claimed that the medical
infrastructure in the state was inadequate to handle the
COVID-19 situation and said several people across the state
were dying due to lack of treatment for coronavirus, he said.
"He claims that the system in the state is collapsing.
That people are not getting treatment and are dying. If this
is true then something needs to be done," the Chief Justice
said.
He directed the AG to verify the authenticity of the
video and to ascertain if Shete was indeed part of the state
government.
"Because, if he is a part of the state's system and
this video is authentic, then you will have to address the
situation," the Chief Justice told the AG. PTI AYA
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