The state government of Uttarakhand was strongly chastised by the Uttarakhand High Court for failing to ensure that procedures were followed when religious gatherings were held in the midst of the pandemic.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Uttarakhand High Court slammed the state government for failing to ensure that COVID protocols were followed when religious events including the Kumbh Mela and Char Dham Yatra were held.

A bench of Chief Justice R.S. Chauhan and Justice Alok Verma said while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), “Then there’s the Kumbh Mela, and then there’s Char Dham. Why do we keep causing ourselves embarrassment?”

The Court expressed its displeasure with the states’ “negligence” by looking at videos on social media of priests’ movements in Badrinath and Kedarnath that did not meet social distancing norms.

“Check out what’s going on. Priests in the videos of the Kedarnath and Badrinath temples do not adhere to social distancing. You can’t even let 23 priests into the temple to worship, let alone take a chopper to see what’s going on in Badrinath-Kedarnath “According to the Court.

They are still “ashamed when asked about what is happening to the citizens of the state,” according to the court.

“What are we going to say? It is not my place to make decisions. The government owns this project. You can deceive the judge, but you can’t deceive the public. The state government is irresponsible, and it is playing with the lives of millions of people “According to the Court.

The next hearing in the case will take place on June 9.