Porni Banerjee | ২২ জুলাই ২০২৪ ১৫ : ৪৪Porni Banerjee

The Supreme Court has put on hold the guidelines laid down by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments asking the eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display names of the food stall owners and employees. The apex court posted the issue for hearing on Friday (July 26).

The Court said that police cannot force shopkeepers and shop owners and that they can only display the type of food items served in the eateries.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti issued notice to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. The bench was hearing a plea filed by an NGO, the Association of Protection of Civil Rights, and TMC MP Mahua Moitra, among others, that challenged the UP government’s order.

During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that “the larger issue is much more important. You go to a restaurant depending on the menu, not who is serving. The idea of this directive is exclusion by identity. This is not the republic we envisaged in the Constitution.”

Moitra argued that such an act escalates tensions among communities and called for a halt on these orders.

The bench instead issued directives for authorities to ensure maintaining hygienic food quality. “It is permissible for authorities to ensure kanwariyas (pilgrims) are served vegetarian food conforming to their preferences (and) maintaining hygienic standards,” the bench said.

Singhvi said that displaying names of the owners and staffs of the food stalls will serve no purpose and that there is no rationale behind doing so.

“It’s about identity inclusion. The order was issued without any authority of law. What can be the rationale behind this nexus between aims and objects of giving a name and eating at restaurants?” he said.

In addition, CU Singh, an advocate appearing for the above-mentioned NGO also said that displaying names of owners and staffs does not serve any purpose.

“It has never been done before. It has no statutory backing. No law gives the Police Commissioner the power to do it. The directive on every tea stalls and other roadside shops giving names of employees and owners does not serve any purpose,” he said.

Last week, the Muzaffarnagar Police made it compulsory for the eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of the food stall owners. The Yogi Adityanath-led UP government extended the order statewide on Friday, following which the Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments also imposed the move.