Impose 14-day lockdown in Uttar Pradesh : Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to impose a two week lockdown amid the COVID-19 crisis.

PTI file photo

New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday (April 26, 2021) directed the Uttar Pradesh government to impose a two week lockdown amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The high court made the observation while hearing a suo moto case on the COVID-19 crisis in Uttar Pradesh.

Bar and Bench quoted the Justice Siddhart Varma as saying, “I again request, if things are not in control then impose a two week lockdown. Please suggest it to your policy makers. It is blowing out of proportion, that is the first thing it seems.”

Justice Varma to AAG: I again request, if things are not in control then impose a two week lockdown. Please suggest it to your policy makers. It is blowing out of proportion, that is the first thing it seems.#allahabadhighcourt — Bar & Bench (@barandbench) April 27, 2021

Further, he said, "There is a shortage of doctors, there is a shortage of staff, oxygen, there is no L1, L2. Everything is good on paper, but the fact is that there is shortage. With folded hands, we request you to exercise your discretion."

This comes nearly a week after the Supreme Court stayed the Allahabad High Court’s order directing lockdown in five cities of the state.

On April 19, the Allahabad High Court had ordered a lockdown across five cities of Uttar Pradesh - Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Kanpur and Gorakhpur, in view of the worsening COVID-19 situation. 

The decision was, however, stayed by the Supreme Court. The order was passed by the bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde.