18 June order staying this year’s Rath Yatra due to the covid-19 pandemic.The Centre submitted that the Rath Yatra can be allowed to be held this year without public participation in view of the coronavirus pandemic, saying the "tradition of centuries may not be stopped".
The Odisha government supported the Centre's stand.The top court held that it will leave it to the temple management and the Odisha government to conduct the Yatra in a restricted manner without allowing public participation.The apex court on 18 June had stayed the annual Rath Yatra and related activities at the Jagannath Temple in Puri given the surge in covid-19 cases across the country.