Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court (HC) on Friday dismissed a PIL filed by Haridwar resident Anand Swaroop seeking a ban on the entry of non-Hindus into the Char Dham shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri on security grounds. Swaroop cited past attacks on Hindu religious sites including the 2002 Akshardham temple attack in Gujarat, the 2010 bomb blast at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi, and the recent killings of 26 people in Pahalgam, to demand tighter security measures and restricted access to the Char Dham temples.Apart from theban on non-Hindus, Swaroop also sought the deployment of adequate security forces at the four shrines and a regulatory framework for access to religious sites. He said the state should ensure consistent and robust security at these pilgrimage sites throughout the yatra season to prevent untoward incidents. He urged the state to ensure heightened security during the pilgrimage, especially in the wake of the terror attack at Pahalgam, one of the starting points of the Amarnath yatra.In his petition, Swaroop said that Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath hold deep religious and cultural importance and gave suggestions to set up a mechanism through which “only pilgrims are allowed access to reduce the risk of desecration”.The petition also cited past disasters at Kedarnath, which caused significant loss of life, and highlighted the need for thorough visitor verification through a registration process and for limiting entry based on the site’s geographical capacity.The case was heard and dismissed on Friday by a bench comprising Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Alok Mahra.