The Madras High Court on Wednesday refused to order the arrest of Hindu Munnani founder Rama Gopalan and its state president Kadeswara C. Subramaniam for allegedly planning to defy a ban imposed by the State government on installation of idols at public places for the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations this year.
Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy refused to issue any such directions on a public interest litigation petition. They said there was no reason to suspect that the government would not implement the ban imposed by it to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The judges disposed of the petition after recording the submissions of the State Government Pleader V. Jayaprakash Narayanan that the government had requested people to celebrate the festival this year inside their houses and to adhere to physical distancing norms when they visit temples which have been permitted to remain open.
Another case
Justices M.M. Sundresh and R. Hemalatha, too, disposed of a similar case filed by another individual on the same terms in which the Chief Justice had decided the case before him.
