UP govt moves Supreme Court, challenges Allahabad HC order imposing Covid-19 curbs in 5 cities

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the UP government plea today itself, news agencies reported. The Allahabad high court had on Monday imposed Covid-19 curbs on five cities in Uttar Pradesh -- Prayagraj, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar, and Gorakhpur -- till April 26.

The Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against the order passed by Allahabad High Court on Monday imposing Covid-19 curbs in five cities in the state till April 26. The UP government, represented by solicitor general Tushar Mehta, mentioned the matter before the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the state’s government plea on Tuesday, and in a ruling later on in the day, stayed the Allahabad High Court's Monday order imposing curbs on the said cities.

The UP government, represented by solicitor general Tushar Mehta, mentioned the matter before the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde. (Representational Image)

A day ago, Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to close all establishments, private or government-run, in five of its most populous cities -- Prayagraj, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar and Gorakhpur. The court also slammed the state government for "not planning" for a second wave of the pandemic and criticised the state election commission for holding the panchayat elections at this time and "exposing" poll officials to the threat of the virus.

The court stopped short of calling the curbs a complete lockdown, saying that the restrictions, which left essential services exempt, are "nowhere close to a complete lockdown". However, the court order, reviewed by PTI, read, "If we have not imposed a lockdown it does not mean that we do not believe in it. We are still of the view that if we want to break the chain a lockdown for a duration of at least two weeks is a must."

The Uttar Pradesh government resisted the order and said that there will be no "complete lockdown" in the cities for now. Responding to the order, UP additional chief secretary (information), Navneet Sehgal said strict curbs are necessary to control the spread of the virus and that the government has taken several steps in that direction. He, however, said that protecting livelihoods is equally important to save lives, adding that a complete lockdown in these cities was not necessary for now since people are "automatically closing many places".

The total number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in Uttar Pradesh currently stands at 879,831, as per the official tally provided by the state government at 10:45pm on Monday. Of these, 208,523 are active cases while the statewide death toll has almost touched 10,000.