The court was hearing pleas by TMC MP Mahua Moitra others challenging the directives of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display names of their owners and their staff.
The apex court on July 22 had stayed the directives by the Uttar Pradesh government directing shop owners to display their nameplates outside shops during the Yatra.
Earlier, issuing notice to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, where the Ujjain municipal body had issued a similar directive, a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti, had said eateries may be required to display the kind of food they are serving like they are vegetarian or non-vegetarian.
The Uttar Pradesh government had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing petitions challenging its directive regarding the display of the names of shop owners on the Kanwar route. In its affidavit, the UP government said that the directive was issued to ensure a peaceful completion of the Kanwar Yatra and to ensure greater transparency. The significant order comes amid an escalating row over the directives, with even BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) joining the chorus for their withdrawal and opposition parties resolving to raise the issue in Parliament.
The opposition has alleged that the orders were “communal and divisive” and intended to target Muslims and Scheduled Castes by forcing them to reveal their identity, but the BJP maintained that the step has been taken keeping in mind law and order issues and the religious sentiments of pilgrims.
