SC junks PIL seeking Amarnath Yatra ban

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking ban on this year's Amarnath Yatra on the ground of Covid-19 and ruled that decision to grant or denial of permission to a religious congregation was solely within the domain of the government and not the judiciary.
Dismissing the PIL filed by Shri Amarnath Barfani Langars Organisation, a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and K M Joseph said, "the decision as to whether a pilgrimage should be permitted and, if it is permitted, the safeguards which should be observed, are matters which fall within the domain of the executive arm of the State."
The bench said, "the issue as to whether the Amarnath Yatra 2020 should or should not be held is a matter that must be left to the competence of the local administration.Any decision that is arrived at has to be based on law and on relevant statutory provisions holding the field. Entertaining a writ petition under Article 32 at this stage would necessarily involve this Court taking over an executive function of oversight over the local administration."
It said, "We decline to exercise the jurisdiction under Article 32 to take over these powers under the rubric of judicial review. The principle of separation of powers requires that administrative decisions must be taken where they are entrusted, namely by the executive arm of the state. The court will step in where the parameters for judicial 6 review, as explained earlier, arise."
To persuade the court to intervene in stopping the Amarnath Yatra to stop the spread of coronavirus, senior advocate Devadatt Kamat and advocate Rajesh Inamdar cited the case of world famous Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra. But, the bench was aware of the flip flop done by the Odisha government leading to the SC modifying its complete ban on the chariot festival to allow it with a limited number of sevaits who have been tested negative for Covid.
Kamat said that the Centre under Disaster Management Act has already banned large congregations and attempted to salvage the lost cause by appealing to the court that the Jammu and Kashmir government could make arrangements for 'live darshan' of the ice-lingam at the shrine through the internet and electronic media. But, it failed to cut the ice with the bench, which was unequivocal that it was purely an administrative decision.
The bench said, "In arriving at a decision, the administrative authorities must bear in mind statutory provisions governing the field and policies and administrative circulars issued in pursuance of statutory provisions. An assessment of the situation will be based on ground realities."
"This assessment lies in the domain of the administrative functions of the state. The duty of the court is to step in where (i) the decision making process is flawed by a failure to observe statutory or constitutional requirements; or (ii) where a decision is contrary to law; or (iii) the failure to take a decision results in a breach of a statutory duty or a fundamental right," it said.
"Once a decision is taken, its validity can be tested on procedural and substantive grounds including proportionality and manifest arbitrariness. The power to take a decision on whether a pilgrimage should take place in a given situation lies with the executive arm of the state," said the bench led by Justice Chandrachud.