Supreme Court takes cognizance of UP's green light to Kanwar Yatra

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo moto cognizance of the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to green flag Kanwar Yatra while the third wave of COVID pandemic is around the corner, reports Live Law.

The bench headed by Justice RF Nariman has issued notice to Union Government, UP government and Uttarakhand government. Uttarakhand government had said yesterday that there would be no Kanwar Yatra in the state, but UP had decided to allow the pilgrimage though certain curbs were imposed.

The bench noticed that Uttarakhand decided to call off the pilgrimage while UP has chosen to allow it. The court said that the citizens of India are perplexed and are not aware of what is going on. While the Prime Minister urges the nation to adhere to COVID norms and says that we cannot compromise for another wave of the pandemic, the court wants to hear the states' and Union government's response, the bench said.

The court asked the trio to respond as early as Friday morning since the pilgrimage is scheduled for July 25.

The Kanwar Yatra starts on July 25 and will end on August 6. According to The Indian Express report, the last pilgrimage was held in 2019, and around 3.5 crore devotees visited Haridwar and other pilgrimage spots in Western UP.