Lucknow, Sep 8 (IANS) The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court Thursday turned down a plea of the central and Uttar Pradesh governments to vacate its stay order against the grant of subsidy to Haj pilgrims.

The court had Aug 25 ordered a blanket ban on subsidy given by the central and state governments to Haj pilgrims.

Both the governments had appealed to the court for vacation of the stay, saying that arrangements for the annual Haj pilgrimage had to be made well in advance.

However, a bench of judges A.K. Yog and Shailendra Saxena turned down the plea and fixed Sep 18 for the final disposal of the case that was otherwise to be listed after three months.

The court reiterated that it did not intend to impose any restriction on the other facilities extended by the governments in the larger interest of safety and well being of pilgrims of any community. However, the grant of subsidy for individuals would remain stayed until the final hearing.