New Delhi, June 18, 2020: The Supreme Court of India on June 18 disallowed holding the famous chariot procession in Pune, a coastal town in Odisha, eastern India.

“The Lord Jagannath rath yatra (chariot procession) and activities connected to it will not be allowed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic,” the apex court said.

“Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allowed the rath yatra,” Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said while hearing a petition seeking to defer the procession in scheduled to start on June 23.

The apex court noted that such gatherings can’t take place at the time of the pandemi, referring to the advice by health professionals to maintain social distancing as the highly infectious coronavirus can spread via respiratory droplets and surface contact. The risk increases manifold in a crowded environment.

The court said it cannot allow the rath yatra this year “in the interest of public health and safety of citizens”.

The Odisha Vikas Parishad (Odisha development council), an NGO, in its petition said the annual procession will draw some 1 million people and the religious event goes on for 10-12 days.

The rath yatra amid the Covod-19 pandemic “will be an invitation to infect lakhs of devotees,” the petition said, adding the Odisha government has also not allowed religious places to open before June 30.

The NGO, represented by former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, said allowing the rath yatra would violate the state government’s order.

“This is a serious matter,” the Chief Justice said. “Even if there are only 10,000 people (in the event), it is also a serious thing,” the Chief Justice said.

The federal has been cautious in allowing religious places to remain open during the initial stages of the lockdown that was first enforced on March 25, when it became apparent that flattening the curve of rising coronavirus cases was more important than any other activity.

As the lockdown was extended multiple times, some states allowed religious places to reopen with limited crowd and strict safety and social distancing guidelines.