Allahabad HC dismisses plea to stop ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ for laying down foundation stone of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya

 
The Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to stop  "Bhoomi Pujan" for laying down the foundation stone of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.
 
Saket Gokhale, the petitioner, submitted that the UP government have invited about three hundred people at a single place on August 5 and that may cause violation of the protocol prescribed by the Government of India and Government of Uttar Pradesh for the purpose of maintaining social and physical distancing to combat the pandemic of COVID-19. 
 
A division bench of the Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh, however, said that the entire petition was based on assumptions and there was no foundation for apprehending violation of the prescribed protocol. 
 
The bench further noted that it expects the organizers and the Government of Uttar Pradesh would ensure all the protocol applicable for social and physical distancing. 
 
As per reports, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Ram Temple slated to be built in Ayodhya on August 5. 
 
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic and to ensure maximum social distancing at the programme, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra has decided that there will not be more than 200 people, including 150 invitees at the foundation stone laying ceremony.