Joshimath: Supreme Court refuses to hear PIL seeking its intervention
New Delhi, January 16
The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a PIL seeking its intervention to declare the imminent subsidence of Joshimath in Uttarakhand as a ‘national disaster’.
A three-judge Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud asked petitioner Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati to move the Uttarakhand HC where a Bench led by Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi is already seized of a broad range of issues with regard to the issue.
“We do not want to use these proceedings for sound bytes for social media. We care only for relief for the people. Isn’t the High Court under Article 226 capable of giving it? Why can’t you raise all your issues before the High Court?” asked the Bench which also included Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala.
Considered to be the gateway to Himalayan mountain climbing expeditions, trekking trails and renowned pilgrimage sites such as Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, Joshimath is on the brink of subsidence after huge cracks appeared in hundreds of houses, roads and fields, forcing several families to seek shelter elsewhere. The state government has ordered immediate evacuation of the stranded families.
