After the Allahabad High Court on Monday (19 April) directed the Yogi Adityanath led government in Uttar Pradesh to enforce closure of government and private establishments in five cities - Lucknow, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kanpur and Gorakhpur - till 26 April, the state government on Tuesday (20 April) moved the Supreme Court against the directive by Allahabad High Court.

The UP government, represented by solicitor general Tushar Mehta, mentioned the matter before the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the state’s government plea on Tuesday (20 April), reports Hindustan Times.

Hearing a PIL on Covid care, a division bench comprising Justice Siddharth Varma and Justice Ajit Kumar observed, “We are conscious that before imposing a lockdown, the government has to work out modalities But if we have not imposed a lockdown, it does not mean we do not believe in it. We direct the government to consider imposition of a complete lockdown in the state for at least two weeks. This would not break the Covid chain, but also give respite to health workers.”

“If a popular government has its own political compulsions in not checking public movement during this pandemic, we cannot remain passive spectators. Public health is top priority and any complacency will cause havoc. We cannot shirk away from our constitutional duty to save innocent people from the pandemic, which is spreading due to the negligence of a few,” the court observed.

On Monday (19 April), the UP government issued a statement, saying a “full lockdown would not be implemented in cities right now. People are voluntarily shutting establishments.”