An Indian court urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to suspend political rallies and election campaigns in poll-bound states amid the rising number of Omicron cases, a variant of Covid-19, Reuters reports.

Judges of the Allahabad High Court in the country's most populous Uttar Pradesh (UP) state said on Thursday the number of people infected with Omicron is on the rise and could result in a third wave of the coronavirus.

The judges said, if possible, the elections that are expected to be held in February next year be postponed by a couple of months.