A bench comprising of the Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh, of the Allahabad High Court, dismissed a plea seeking to restrain “Bhoomi Pujan” being orgainzed at Ayodhya for laying the foundation stone of the Ram Mandir.

The PIL was filed by Saket Gokhale, a social activist from Mumbai. The plea alleged that inviting three hundred people at a single place on 5th August, 2020 for the ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ may cause violation of the protocol prescribed by the Government for the purpose of maintaining social and physical distancing to combat pandemic of COVID-19.

The Court observed said that the entire petition was based on assumptions and there were no concrete reasons for apprehending violation of the prescribed protocol. The Court did not find any reason to interfere in the matter. However, it expects the organizers and the Government of Uttar Pradesh to ensure all the protocol applicable for social and physical distancing.