Today, On 26th July, The Supreme Court ruled that there are no restrictions preventing eateries from voluntarily displaying the names of their owners or employees during the Kanwar Yatra. This allows businesses to choose whether they wish to make such information public.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court extended its interim stay on directives from certain states requiring shop, restaurant owners, and hawkers to display their names outside their premises during the Kanwar Yatra season.
A Bench consisting of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti confirmed that the interim order from July 22 remains in effect, providing additional time for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh to submit their responses.
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Emphasizing that there are no restrictions on shops or eateries voluntarily displaying the names of their owners and employees, the Court stated,
“The interim order shall continue,”
The Bench clarified,
“For voluntarily displaying names there is no issue. Our order says that they cannot be forced to put out owner names and employee names outside the dhaba.”
On July 22, the Supreme Court issued a stay on the directive from authorities in various States requiring shop owners and hawkers to display their names outside their establishments during the Kanwar Yatra season.
This decision came as the Court was hearing multiple petitions challenging the Uttar Pradesh Police’s directive in Muzaffarnagar, which had been adopted by several neighbouring States as well.
Critics argued that the directive intended to reveal the religious identity of the establishment owners, thereby discriminating against Muslim shop owners.
The petitioners, including the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand, activist Aakar Patel, and MP Mahua Moitra, brought the matter to the Supreme Court. They argued that the directive discriminatory and that only the type of food served, whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian, needed to be disclosed. They also stated that there was no legal basis for mandating the disclosure of the owner’s name.
The petitioners pointed out that Kanwar Yatras have been conducted for decades with support from people of all religions, including Muslims.
In its defence, the Uttar Pradesh government stated that the directive not intended to discriminate but was instead aimed at respecting the strict dietary habits of Kanwariyas, who adhere to a vegetarian, satvik diet. The government emphasized that the purpose of the directive to ensure transparency and prevent any accidental dietary violations, which could potentially lead to law and order issues.
Affidavit filed by the UP government, stated,
“The Kanwariyas adhere to a strict vegetarian, satvik diet, avoiding onion, garlic, and all other tamasic foods. Satvik food involves not just the exclusion of onions and garlic but also specific preparation methods, similar to falhar during other festivals with fasting ceremonies,”
The affidavit explained that the directive aimed to ensure transparency and provide Kanwariyas with informed choices about the food they consume during the Yatra, respecting their religious sentiments to prevent accidental dietary breaches.
It argued that if a Kanwariya accidentally consumed food outside their prescribed diet, it could lead to law and order issues.
The UP government contended,
“Such incidents could cause significant unrest among the lakhs and crores of pilgrims walking barefoot with holy water. A single meal mistakenly eaten at a place not conforming to their dietary choices could disrupt the entire Yatra, affecting peace and tranquillity in the area, which the State is duty-bound to maintain,”
The government highlighted that similar provisions are in place for other religions as well.
The State’s affidavit stated,
“For instance, traffic restrictions are enforced throughout the State during holy festivals such as Muharram and Eid. It is well known that arrangements are also made for village fairs to facilitate the sale and purchase of goats during this period. Additionally, the movement of pigs is restricted to avoid offending the religious sentiments of the minority community, which generally considers pigs unclean and abstains from consuming pig meat,”
The affidavit also noted special arrangements for Haj pilgrims.
During today’s hearing, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the State of UP, argued that the law requires the display of owners’ and employees’ names.
He added that the interim order issued without the UP government being heard.
He stated,
“My submission is that the first order was issued without our input. Our argument was that the law mandates the display of the owner’s name on the board,”
The Court then instructed the UP government to specifically state this in its counter affidavit.
The Uttarakhand government made a similar assertion.
The counsel for Uttarakhand stated,
“There is a law that requires such disclosure,”
The Court requested,
“Show us where in your States you have mandated such information to be displayed,”
Rohatgi noted,
“Kanwariya is only in three States and not in the south,”
The Court remarked,
“Let the State’s counter affidavit confirm that it is applicable across the (concerned) State,”
However, the Court reiterated that there is no prohibition on voluntary disclosure by shopkeepers.
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Justice Roy emphasized,
“Suppose a shopkeeper wants to display the name, then it is fine,”
The Court then granted two weeks for the affected States to file their responses and scheduled the case for a hearing after three weeks.
Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, CU Singh, and Huzefa Ahmadi, along with Advocates Shahrukh Alam, Shadan Farasat, Fauzia Shakil, Ujjwal Singh, Shivansh Saxena, Amit Bhandari, Gautam Bhatia, Prannv Dhawan, Abhishek Babbar, Shadab Azhar, Aman Naqvi, Harshit Anand, Natasha Maheshwari, Mreganka Kukreja, Akriti Chaubey, Sadhana Madhavan, Tamanna Pankaj, and Shantanu Singh represented the petitioners.