Supreme Court Pauses Kanwar Yatra Food Stalls Order

The Supreme Court has stayed, till Friday, a controversial Uttar Pradesh government order directing eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display names of owners and employees, noting police could not force shopkeepers and shop owners and that they could only be asked to display food items.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti issued notice to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh that issued the 'nameplate order'. The bench was hearing a plea filed by an NGO, the Association of Protection of Civil Rights, challenging the Uttar Pradesh government's order.

The bench also made some strong observations this afternoon, noting "it is permissible for authorities to ensure kanwariyas (pilgrims) are served vegetarian food conforming to their preferences (and) maintaining hygienic standards".

"Compelling all proprietors to display names and address, also of their staff, can hardly achieve the intended objective..." Justice Roy reasoned, also adding, "...without the support of provisions, if the directive is permitted to be enforced... it will infringe the secular character of Republic of India."

During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the order was issued without any authority of law and called it "camouflage". It is a camouflaged order for the Kanwar Yatra. Violators will be fined if they do not show their names. We are talking about thousands of kilometers. The bulk of these shops are tea stalls and some belong to fruit shop owners. This is economic death, he said.

CU Singh, an advocate appearing for the NGO, said the order had no statutory backing and that it did not serve any purpose.

Last week, the Muzaffarnagar Police directed all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners' names. Later, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government extended the order across the state. The Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh governments also followed suit.

The move invited a backlash, not only from the Opposition but also from some of the NDA allies, including JD(U) and RLD. However, the BJP, which is in power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, maintained that the step was taken keeping in mind law and order issues and the religious sentiments of pilgrims.