A Supreme Court Bench consisting of Hon'ble the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Hon'ble Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian allowed the Jain temples at Dadar, Byculla, and Chembur in Mumbai to reopen with the condition that the Standard Operating Procedures (SPOs) are followed to ensure safety keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background:
The Petition was filed before the Supreme Court challenging the order passed by the Bombay High Court on 13th August. The Court in the said order had refused to allow for the reopening of the temples during the Paryushan festival which was to commence from 15th August.
Challenging this order of the Bombay High Court, the Shri Parshwatilak Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain Trust had approached the Supreme Court, submitting that it is arbitrary to grant permission to establishments (other than places of worship) to operate while maintaining safety norms. Therefore, such direction for the closure of the religious places is violative of Articles 14, 25, and 28 of the Constitution of India.
“This discrimination against the temple trusts, worshippers as well as industries dependant on such temples, infringes their rights under Article 14 of the Constitution,” the plea further added.
The petitioner, therefore, made a case to allow for the opening of the temples, with the condition that safety measures would be followed, at least during the Paryushan, which is observed and followed as the most pious religious ritual by the people of Jain faith.
Decision of the Court:
The Court without deliberating upon the merits of the case and keeping the larger question for adjudication by the Bombay High Court where the case is sub-judice, granted the interim relief to the petitioners. The Court also emphasized that such interim measure is not to be taken as a precedent and that the individual requests for allowing religious practices involving large congregations are to be dealt with by the State on the merits of each case.
The Court remarked that if the commercial activities could be permitted to resume conditionally, it is not justifiable to prohibit religious activities from operating with the same set of conditions. It further observed that it is not reasonable and just to take risks with respect to only economic activities and not with other activities of religious nature.
The Court also found substance in the contention made by Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave that; if 5 people are allowed to enter the temple premise at a time and the Standard Operating Procedures are duly followed to mitigate the risk, then, there is no harm in expanding the same operations to temples of other religious faiths apart from that of Jainism.
CJI Bobde did not find merits in the concerns raised by the State of Maharashtra, related to the non-feasibility of and inconvenience at managing the situation. Further, he posed a question to the State:
“If it is the matter of five people at a time in one temple and this format can be replicated in all the places, then we are not opposed to expanding this scope of this to beyond Jain temples - why not Hindu temples, why not Muslim shrines?”
The Court thus permitted the petitioners to offer prayers during the last 2 days of Paryushan at the Jain temples at Dadar, Byculla, and Chembur in Mumbai, while adhering to the SOPs in place, amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Case Details:
Parties’ Name: Shri Parshwatilak Shwetamber Murtipujak Apagacch Jain Trust v The State of Maharashtra & Ors.
Case No.: SLP (Civil) Diary No(s).17041/2020
Bench: CJI SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian
Date of Decision: 21-08-2020
Read Order@LatestLaws.com
