The Supreme Court on Friday permitted the Shri Parshwatilak Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain Trust to have Jain Temples vulnerable during the Paryushan festival.
The Supreme Court on Friday permitted the Shri Parshwatilak Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain Trust to have Jain Temples vulnerable during the Paryushan festival to do prayers at temples of Dadar, Bycullar and Chembur, by ensuing the Standard Operating Process framed by the authorities concerning COVID19. The Paryushan phase is ending today.
The bench also explained that the Order cannot be used as a model or precedent & will not relate to other temples or events. A bench encompassing Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justices AS Bopanna and V. Ramasubramaniun ordered the temple trust to adhere to Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), complementing that the Order would not have any impact to any other trust or temple – explicitly referring to Ganesh Chaturthi with which the State Government will be distributing following merits.
CJI stated that we must make it evident that the Order, in this case, does not expand to any other Trust or any other temples. Our Order is not meant to be relevant in any other case, mainly, which entails a broad audience of people, which by their very personality, cannot be monitored.
The Shri Parshwatilak Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain Trust had shifted to the Supreme Court demanding the Bombay High Court order in which it was rejected to permit members of the Jain community from doing prayers in temples in the course of the holy period of Paryushan festival (between August 15 – August 23).
Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave showed for the Petitioner-trust & proposed that they were only requesting permits of the gathering of people up to 250 a day.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi showed for the State of Maharashtra & contended that it would not be sensible to allow prayers as COVID cases had risen exponentially in the State. Singhvi explained the Court that Ganesh Chaturthi is beginning tomorrow, and it is the main festival in Maharashtra. The govt. has taken a judgment, and everyone is obeying it properly. If this one festival is permitted, floodgates will be commenced, he said.
CJI SA Bobde, however, included that the blanket ban cannot be introduced and drew a consequence between letting the conduct of Jagannath Rath Yatra in June in the State of, Odisha in which the top Court had specified that it could be led while perceiving the strict limitations and regulations of the Centre & the State Government.
In this background, CJI Bobde questioned Singhvi that if only 5 people at a time are gathering, then what is wrong in it, if that is the issue, we do not mind going outside the Jain community.
Dave, at this point, combined that when the State is not patrolling malls, barbershops & liquor shops, there was no excuse to prohibit religious gathering from taking place.
Singhvi advised the Court not to let the prayer of the Trust as this it would be difficult for each State and every religion. He contended that he dislikes saying this, but he wants to question, how will your pact with the application tomorrow that says Jains have been permitted, but others have not.
The plea specified that while attacking the Order of the Bombay High Court that Paryushan is the most vital religious ritual tailed yearly by the supporters of the Jain faith & that guiding conclusion of religious places counting Temples and not letting opening of the religious places in the State of Maharashtra is biased, irrational and without any basis.
On August 14, right before the beginning of the festival, Bombay High Court had rejected to allow associates of the Jain community from offering prayers in temples during the blessed period of Paryushan festival (between August 15 – August 23), detecting that the responsibility of every right-thinking person at this phase is to equilibrium their religious duties with public duty, & their accountability to the rest of humanity.
A division bench comprising of Justice SJ Kathawalla & Justice Madhav Jamdar had analyzed that, Keeping in mind that care of public health is of supreme importance & the peculiar contagion that has absorbed the world and engaged a massive toll in our country, in relations of the number of lives lost, we are motivated to agree with the details given by the Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief & Rehabilitation for not inaugural places of worship or temples to the associates of the public at this stage.
Before leaving with this Order, we would once again repeat that it is the duty of every right-thinking person at this point to offset their religious duties with public duty, & their duty towards the rest of humanity. In this regard, we again reiterate what we have by now told the Petitioners at the moment of hearing that God is inside us, and God is universal.
