New Delhi, July 22
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered an interim stay on the Uttar Pradesh government’s directive to eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners.
The ex-parte order came from a Bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice SVN Bhatt on petitions filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Prof Apoorvanand Jha and others challenging the validity of the directive.
Issuing notices to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and some other states where Kanwar Yatra takes place, the Bench posted the matter for July 26.
“We deem it appropriate to pass an interim order prohibiting the enforcement of the above directives. In other words, the food sellers, hawkers etc, may be required to display the kind of food they are serving to Kanwariyas but they must not be forced to disclose the names of owners and staff employed,” the Bench said, staying the UP government’s order till the next date of hearing.
On behalf of the petitioners, senior counsel AM Singhvi, C Uday Singh and Huzefa Ahmadi submitted that the UP government’s directive went against secularism and was aimed at exclusion by identity.
“Impugned directives encourage discrimination on grounds of caste and religion and cannot be seen to serve any ‘legitimate purpose’. These directives promote discrimination solely based on religious and caste identity, as they do not require the display of food items being served or a statement that no non-vegetarian or non-satvik food is being served, but only the display of religious or caste identity explicit in one’s name. This directly breaches Article 15 of the Constitution,” one of the petitions submitted.
Maintaining that the decision was in the interest of law and order, the Uttar Pradesh government had on July 19 made it mandatory for food and beverage shops along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names/identity of the operator/owner of such establishments.
However, opposition political parties and Muslim organisations criticised the decision, terming it discr iminatory against Muslims.
In Madhya Pradesh, a similar circular has been issued by the BJP-ruled Ujjain Municipal Corporation which has directed the shop owners in the city to display their names and mobile numbers outside their establishments. Any violation of this order will attract a fine of Rs 2,000 for the first offence and Rs 5,000 if the order is defied for the second time, the Ujjain Municipal Corporation said.
