Court rules owners would only display kind of food served
The Supreme Court issued an interim judgment on Monday, putting on hold recommendations requiring merchants in Uttar Pradesh along Kanwar Yatra routes to show their names. The court ruled that owners would only display the type of food provided in their eateries.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti served notice on the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, which issued the ‘nameplate order’. The bench was considering a petition brought by an NGO, the Association for the Protection of Civil Rights, contesting the Uttar Pradesh government’s ruling.
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi stated that the order was made without legal authority and was “camouflage”.
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“This is a disguised order for Kanwar Yatra. If violators fail to show their names, they will be punished. We’re talking thousands of kilometres. The majority of these shops are tea stalls, with others belonging to fruit shop owners. This is economic death,” he stated.
Petitioners state idea of directive is ‘exclusion by identity’
“The greater issue is far more important. You go to a restaurant based on the menu, not the person serving. This directive is based on the idea of exclusion of identity. This is not the republic we envisioned in the Constitution,” he said.
Singhvi stated that yatras have been taking place for decades, and people of various religions have assisted Kanwariyas on their yatra.
“It’s about identity inclusiveness. The order was issued without the power of law. What is the reasoning behind this connection between the goals and objectives of giving a name and eating at restaurants?” He said.
CU Singh, an advocate appearing for the NGO, stated that the injunction lacked statutory backing and served no purpose.
“This has never been done before. It has no statutory support. No legislation affords the Police Commissioner the authority to do so. The edict requiring tea booths and other roadside vendors to display the names of their employees and owners serves no purpose, he claimed.
