Bengaluru: Following the Karnataka High Court rapping Basvaraj Bommai government for inaction against participants of Congress-led Mekedatu padayatra, senior party leader Siddaramaiah Wednesday said the party will obey court orders.

"The case has been posted for the next hearing on January 14. We have to see what direction it gives. Whatever directions it gives we will obey them. We cannot defy court orders," he told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, the court had questioned the government why it has not taken action against Congress leaders who have been flouting the Covid norms by continuing with its padayatra, putting at risk the lives of people.

It also sought to know whether the Congress had sought prior permission for padayatra. Replying to a pertinent question, Siddaramaiah said that there is no need for seeking permission to stage protests, but the party had informed the government about the padayatra.

"No permission is taken for taking out a padayatra or to stage a protest. Therefore we did not seek permission, but we had informed the government on the padayatra days before its launch," he said.

The 11-day padayatra was launched on Sunday in the presence of senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and KPCC President DK Shivakumar.

The situation is not only grim in the state, but also among the padayatris. Already three Congress leaders are down with Covid. HM Revanna and Shivshankar Reddy, have tested positive during the padayatra, and CM Ibrahim tested positive when he visited the residence of Shivakumar.

Earlier, Shivakumar had shared a stage with the infected legislators at the Sangam where the padayatra was launched on Sunday. Shivakumar had refused to undertake Blood/Covid test after his video of faltering steps and coughing had gone viral on social media.

The Ramanagara police have lodged FIR against several Congress leaders including Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and Kharge for flouting Covid norms.

Meanwhile, new Covid cases in Karnataka have crossed the 21,000 mark, out of which 15,000 has been registered in Bengaluru alone as of Wednesday. The positivity rate in the state is 10.96 percent and active cases stands at 93,009, out of which Bengaluru registered 73,000. As many as 10 deaths have been reported today, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.