No Lockdown In Uttar Pradesh: Supreme Court Stays Allahabad HC Order After UP Govt Files Plea

The Supreme Court stayed the Allahabad High Court order for lockdown in five cities in Uttar Pradesh.

The apex court was hearing the plea of the Uttar Pradesh government against the Allahabad High Court order directing it to impose strict restrictions till April 26 in five cities amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Uttar Pradesh government argued that locking down five cities by judicial order "may not be the right approach" and a "blanket lockdown imposed by the High Court in five cities would create immense administrative difficulties."

AFP

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde.

Mehta, while referring to the high court's order passed on Monday, said that ¡°a virtual lockdown is declared by a judicial order for a week¡±.

Allahabad HC ordered lockdown

The high court had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to impose strict restrictions including closing of malls, shopping complexes and restaurants till April 26 in five cities, but stopped short of calling it a "complete lockdown".

Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur, Nagar and Gorakhpur are the cities in which the high court has directed curbs.

PTI

The high court had said these curbs are "nowhere close to a complete lockdown".

The high court had 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 virus.