The Supreme Court on Friday extended its interim stay on the directives issued by certain States to display the names of shop/ restaurant owners and hawkers outside their premises during the Kanwar Yatra season.
A Bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti said the interim order passed by it on July 22 will continue.
“The interim order shall continue,” the Bench said while giving time to the States of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh to file their responses. The Bench said it won’t issue any clarification on the July 22 order as “We have said what needed to be said in our July 22 order. Can’t force anyone to disclose names.”
A large number of devotees travel from various places with ‘kanwars’ carrying holy water from the Ganga to perform ‘jalabhishek’ of Shivlings during the Hindu calendar month of ‘Shravan’. Many believers shun consuming meat during the month they consider holy. Many don’t even consume meals containing onions and garlic.
The Bench also made it clear that there is no restriction on shops/ eateries voluntarily displaying names of its owners and employees outside their premises.
The Bench asked the Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand Governments to file their response to the pleas challenging their respective directives. It allowed the petitioners to file their responses to the replies of the State Governments and post the matter on August 5. The Bench was hearing a batch of petitions challenging such a directive by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Muzaffarnagar.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh Government, said they have filed their reply and their stand is that the directive in question is the requirement under law. He urged the court to take up the matter next Monday otherwise the issue will become infructuous. There is huge rush of devotees at Shiva temples on Mondays, especially during the month of Shravan. “We have suffered ex-parte order and without hearing the order was stayed,” he submitted, adding that the interim order passed by the court is not in line with the central law.
The Bench said if there is any law governing eateries and shops, then the State should enforce it across areas under its jurisdiction.”Let the law be enforced all across the state and not only in certain areas. You please file an affidavit showing that the law has been enforced all over,” Justice Roy told Rohatgi.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, said if this law mandating display of names and other details has not been put in force for the past 60 years, the issue can be taken up in due course of time and let the yatra continue without enforcing the direction.
Deputy Advocate General for Uttarakhand Jatinder Kumar Sethi said the state has not issued any specific order with respect to Kanwar Yatra and the government was only enforcing law that mandated disclosure of the names of eateries during all festivals.
Backing the directives issued by the State police asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of the owners and staff, the UP Government told the Supreme Court that the directive issued by the Muzaffarnagar police to all food sellers to disclose nameplate was temporary in nature to ensure public safety, order, and transparency to protect sentiments of ‘Kanwariyas’ who take only ‘sativik’ foods during their ‘yatra’ in ‘Shravan’ month keeping in mind their religious sentiments so that they don’t, even accidentally, fall foul of their beliefs” as “such situations would obviously lead to flare ups where lakhs and crores of people are walking barefoot carrying holy water”.
In an affidavit, the UP Government clarified that the State has imposed no ban or prohibition on the trade or business of the food sellers (except the restriction on selling non veg food), and they are free to conduct their business as usual. The affidavit said the press release was issued on July 17, 2024 solely in the interest of ensuring a peaceful completion of the Kanwar Yatra, in which more than 4.07 crores of Kanwariyas participate annually.
The UP Government said it further informed the Supreme Court that a mishap in the form of taking a meal unwittingly of a place that would have otherwise not been of their choice, could, for the Kanwaria, vitiate the entire Yatra, peace and tranquillity in the area, the maintenance of which, is the bounden duty of the State. In fact, it may be noted that in the past week itself, there have been flare ups and altercations on the Kanwar Yatra route with respect to onions and garlic being served at the eateries, it pointed out.
The State Government maintained that the temporary nature of the directives ensured that they do not inflict any permanent discrimination or hardship on the food sellers, simultaneously ensuring maintaining the sentiments of Kanwariyas and their religious beliefs and practices. Moreover, the said guidelines have only been issued for a limited geographical extent. “The directives are also aimed at ensuring public safety and order during the Kanwar Yatra, given the large number of participants and the potential for communal tensions, it is imperative to take preventive measures that ensure a peaceful and harmonious pilgrimage. Past incidents have shown that misunderstandings regarding the type of food being sold have led to tensions and disturbances. The directives are a proactive measure to avoid such situations,” it asserted.
The State Government also made a reference to the Food and Safety Standards (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses (Regulations), 2011, framed under Section 92(2)(a) read with Section 31 of the Food and Safety Standards Act, 2006, which requires registration of all “petty food” businesses and mandatory disclosure of the photo ID of the owner and Registration Certificate, “which sadly is lacking in most dhabas, with some even lacking registration”.
