Mumbai, August 21: Three Jain temples in Mumbai were granted permission by the Supreme Court on Friday to re-open for two days. The permit, which the court said should not be considered as a precedent, was granted in view of the Paryushan festival - the most important annual observance by adherents of Jainism. Jammu & Kashmir: Religious Places Reopen From August 16, Cap of 5,000 Pilgrims Per Day for Vaishno Devi Shrine.

The apex judicial body was hearing a plea moved by Shri Parshwa Tilak Shwetambar Murtipujak Tapagach Jain Trust. The petition sought permission to open three temples in Mumbai - based in Byculla, Dadar and Chembur areas - for an interim period to allow the minority community to offer prayers on occasion of Paryushan.

Notably, the Paryushan festival began on August 16 and will continue till 23rd of this month. As per the court order, the three Jain temples can remain open on August 22 and 23.

The court, while granting permission to the Jain group, stressed that the order must not serve as a precedent to open more religious sites amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While places of worship are allowed to remain open by some states and union territories, those provinces facing a high-risk of virus transmission have kept the religious sites closed to prevent mass congregations.

The Maharashtra government had, before the SC order, decided not to grant permit for reopening Jain temples on occasion of Paryushan as COVID-19 continues to remain a major threat in Mumbai and other cities. The state had also refrained from allowing mosques and Eidgahs to open for the public on Eid ul-Adha, observed on August 1.

Temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and other places of worship were shut down in Maharashtra and other parts of India in third week of March, after the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had raised an alert over the spread of coronavirus. The Centre, had in the Unlock 1 guidelines issued in June, allowed states and UTs with low caseload to reopen the religious sites.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2020 02:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).