In the midst of the Omicron crisis, the Allahabad High Court has made a suggestion to EC

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Election Commission (EC) to look into ways to "postpone" the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh by a few months and to prohibit all political rallies in other poll-bound states, citing the country's rising cases of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19.

A single-judge court led by Justice Shekhar Yadav observed, "Jaan hain toh Jahaan hain," that Omicron cases are on the rise in India, with the prospect of a third wave. It also cited China, the Netherlands, and Germany as examples of countries that have enacted full or partial lockdowns in response to the increased number of COVID-19 cases.

"Election rallies of political parties should be banned to save the public from the third wave of Corona in the assembly elections to be held in Uttar Pradesh. They should be asked to campaign through TV and newspapers," the High Court observed.

"ECI should take strict steps to stop the election meetings and rallies of the parties. Also consider postponing the election, because only if there is life, the world is meaningful," the High Court said.

The second wave will wreak havoc in the 2021 assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry, as well as the gramme panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh, according to the High Court. It was also noted that following COVID norms, such as social separation, is not practicable during political gatherings.

The court, which made the observations while granting bail to Sanjay Yadav, praised Prime Minister Modi for his efforts in India's "free vaccine" campaign, but asked him to restrict rallies, postpone elections, and take tough actions in light of the pandemic scenario.

"The Prime Minister of our country, has run the campaign of free corona vaccination in a country with a huge population like India, which is commendable and the court praises him and request the Hon'ble Prime Minister to take strong steps in view of the situation of this dreadful epidemic, and consider exploring possibility to stop and postpone rallies, meetings and the upcoming elections because unless there is life, there is no meaning to the world," it said.