In Brief
In June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court of India addressed multiple applications seeking to modify or intervene in an order restraining the Rath Yatra festival (an annual religious procession) in Odisha. The original order had prohibited the event citing the serious risk posed by large gatherings of devotees during the pandemic. The Court disposed of all intervention and modification applications, upholding the restriction as a necessary public health measure balancing religious freedom with the paramount duty to protect citizens from infectious disease transmission during the pandemic emergency.">
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