Plea seeks recall of SC order staying Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 20

Pattajoshi Mohapatra – the Hereditary Chief Servitor of Lord Jagannatha Temple, Puri – has moved the Supreme Court seeking recall of its June 18 order that stayed this year’s Rath Yatra scheduled to commence on June 23.

Maintaining that an absolute bar on the performance of such an essential ritual was not necessary to protect public health, he urged the court to allow it with conditions such as social distancing and other COVID-19 norms to save “an essential, mandatory and unbroken religious tradition” of Lord Jagannatha Temple.

The plea is likely to be taken up for hearing by a Vacation Bench at the earliest.

The Puri Rath Yatra festival – which attracts a large number of Indian and foreign devotees and tourists – goes on for almost 20 days. Last year an estimated one million people took part in it.  

Mohapatra also questioned the bona fides of Odisha Vikas Parishad – on whose petition the top court had stayed the Rath Yatra. “In fact, the very bona fides of the petitioner in the writ petition must be examined in view of the fact that the said petition was moved barely five days before the Rath Yatra despite the date of the Yatra having been in public domain for months,” said Mohapatra. 

Also read: SC stays Lord Jagganath's Rath Yatra due to Covid

He expressed shock and surprise over the abrupt position taken by the state government in favour of banning the Rath Yatra before the Supreme Court without notice to the primary stakeholders on a matter of an essential religious practice.

He said it violated not just his right to religion but also fundamental rights of servitors, temple administrators and millions of devotees under Articles 25(1), 26 and 29 of the Constitution.

Mohapatra who is the head of the Nijoga – the association of sevaks/sevayats recognised by the Shri Jagannath Temple Managing Committee under the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 – expressed surprise over the Odisha Government's decision to oppose the Rath Yatra before the Supreme Court.

"The state government cannot unilaterally take a position with respect to the religious practices of the temple without consulting the committee, the applicant and the Nijoga," said Mohapatra.

He urged the top court to direct the temple and state authorities "to ensure the smooth and safe conduct of the Rath Yatra scheduled on June 23, 2020 in accordance with the Covid-19 guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs”.

Mohapatra also suggested imposing curfew for a couple of days to have Rath Yatra without crowds.

"Imposition of a total curfew in the entire city of Puri for two days before the Rath Yatra and sealing of its borders to prevent outsiders from entering the city... Additional support from the CRPF can be taken for effective implementation of the curfew/lockdown," he submitted.

If a curfew is imposed on the day of Rath Yatra and the Rathas are pulled with the help of earth movers, the entire journey of Lord Jagannatha from the Shri Jagannath Temple to Gundicha Mandir of around 2.8 km can be completed in less than one hour. Therefore, an absolute bar on the performance of such an essential ritual is not necessary to protect public health.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday stayed the Rath Yatra in view of the rising number of COVID-19 patients.

"A procession of this magnitude cannot be permitted at the time of a pandemic... Lord Jagannath will not forgive us if we allow this to continue," a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde had said while ordering a ban on all activities related to the Rath Yatra 2020.

Mohapatra pointed out that as part of the said scaled-down and controlled preparations, the entire construction activity of the Rathas took place in a protected environment and after subjecting the 372 carpenters and other artisans to COVID-19 tests, which established they were Covid-negative. 

"The temple administration has been working tirelessly to ensure that all rituals are conducted in complete full compliance with the health-norms issued by the authorities. Steps have been taken to ensure that there is no gathering at the time of the Rath Yatra. No outside devotee has been allowed to enter Jagannath Temple from the beginning of lockdown till date," the recall application read.

"As of now, all four sides of Jagannath Mandir stand sealed and the entire town of Puri is proposed to be put on complete curfew until completion of the Rath Yatra with full cooperation from people of Puri," the applicant submitted.

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