A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court demanding a ban on rallies by political parties ahead of the upcoming Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur over fears of the spread of the new omicron variant.

The petition filed in view of the increasing threat of the new coronavirus variant Omicron sought issuance of specific directions, regulations for the adherence of Covid-19 protocols during the election campaign and other ongoing events to enforce the right to health and life of citizens under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The petition, filed by Advocate Vishal Tiwari, has sought a direction to the Election Commission to direct the rallies be held through virtual and digital means by all political parties. Apart from this, the petition sought a direction to the Election Commission to strictly follow the Covid protocol for political rallies.

According to the petition, the cases of Omicron are increasing rapidly and rallies are also being held for the upcoming assembly elections to be held in five states in which the rules made to protect against corona are not being followed.

The five states are having scheduled upcoming state elections in February-March 2022. Large scale public campaigning, promotional activities and processions which are conducted by various political parties for the elections are at full swing which includes higher proportion of public involvement and crowds.

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According to the petition, the opinion of the members of the National Covid-19 Supermodel Committee has mentioned that the daily cases in India are expected to rise steeply as Omicron has replaced Delta as the dominant variant. The opinion of the committee has also raised questions on the action of the respondent authorities where in the committee has opined that the third wave is likely to arrive in India in early 2022 and as such needs to be controlled in the initial phase to reduce number of cases as much as possible.

The country has not yet recovered from the medical emergency caused by the second wave of Covid-19 in 2021, the health infrastructure was completely demolished and therefore the country is not prepared to tackle another disastrous wave of this virus and therefore such events and rallies need to be controlled, said the petition.

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Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar has written to Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice D.N. Patel raising concern over the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 and requested the court to revert to virtual hearing mode once again.

Quoting news from different countries like the United Kingdom, he said:

“The European countries have been reporting as close to 93,000 cases every day. It appears that the variant is 70 times more contagious than the earlier delta variant.”

Quoting the interview of Niti Aayog member Dr V.K. Paul, Nayar said that India could face at least 14 lakh cases a day with the Omicron virus emerging and that this number has the potential to hit the country’s health infrastructure.

He said that against this backdrop, the congregation of a large number of advocates, support staff, and the court staff who physically attend the court would no doubt put the life put everyone at risk of contracting the infection.

In the backdrop of rising cases of omicron variant in past weeks, Delhi High Court judge Justice Rekha Palli has also raised the issue of overcrowding in the court. Justice Palli then asked people present in the court to move out if they do not have any business with the case. She also asked them to avoid standing too close to each other.

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The WHO on Saturday said the Omicron coronavirus variant has been reported in 89 countries and the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission.

Against this backdrop, the Indian Council of Medical Research issued a call to avoid non-essential travel and mass gatherings and observe low-intensity festivities. Moreover, Mumbai’s civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation announced new guidelines amid rising Omicron cases in Maharashtra.

Mixed hearings have been back after the extended Covid-19 lockdown but Omicron fears have led to returning to virtual hearings.