The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of Allahabad High Court in which it said that the entire medical system in villages and small cities of Uttar Pradesh is at God's mercy ("Ram bharose") amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

A vacation bench of Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai said that the directions of the Allahabad High Court passed on May 17 shall not be treated as directives but as a piece of advice to the Uttar Pradesh government.

It said that High Courts should refrain from passing directions that cannot be implemented.

On May 17, the High Court while hearing a PIL over the coronavirus spread and the condition of quarantine centres in the state passed a slew of directions while taking into account the death of one Santosh Kumar (64), who was admitted to an isolation ward at a Meerut hospital.

The doctors there had failed to identify him and disposed of the body as unidentified, according to a probe report.

Santosh had fainted at a hospital bathroom on April 22 and efforts were made to revive him but he died.

The hospital staff could not identify the dead and failed to locate his file. Thus, it was taken as a case of an unidentified body.