The Supreme Court Tuesday stayed the Allahabad High Court order of lockdown in five cities of Uttar Pradesh.
The Allahabad High Court had Monday ordered a near lockdown in five key cities of Uttar Pradesh- Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj and Gorakhpur.
The Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh immediately moved the Supreme Court requesting a stay on the high court order.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that the state government had already taken many steps to contain the spread of the virus.
He further added a lockdown will severely affect the poor people.
A three-judge bench of CJI SA Bobde stayed the order Tuesday morning.
Tuesday night, in his televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi explicitly said the health of people, as well as economy, were top priorities for the government.
He also requested the state governments to use lockdown only as a last resort. PM Modi focused on micro containment zones.
