The QR code mandate for eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in UP and Uttarakhand has been challenged in the Supreme Court, with petitioners arguing that food vendors cannot be forced to reveal their identities publicly.
An application has been submitted to the Supreme Court contesting recent directives from the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
These directives require food vendors along the Kanwar Yatra route to display QR code stickers on their banners, allowing pilgrims to access the names and details of the vendors.
The case is set to be heard on July 15 by a Bench consisting of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice NK Singh.
The application, filed by Professor Apoorvanand through Advocate-on-Record Akriti Chaubey, seeks a stay on these requirements that mandate or facilitate the public disclosure of the identities of food sellers along the Yatra routes.
The plea argues that these directives contravene a Supreme Court interim order issued last year, which stated that food vendors cannot be forced to reveal their identities.
The applicant claims that the new directives undermine the previous court ruling by implementing QR codes that serve the same function disclosing vendor identities and thereby enable religious profiling along the pilgrimage route.
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The application asserts,
“These measures, though framed differently, effectively achieve the same discriminatory profiling that this Hon’ble Court had previously stayed,”
Furthermore, the plea emphasizes that while eateries are legally obligated to obtain licenses and display them, such displays should be confined to the interior of their establishments. The requirement for QR codes or public displays of personal information is viewed by the applicant as an overreach lacking statutory support.
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The applicant also raises concerns regarding communal tensions, arguing that public disclosure of food vendors’ names and identities particularly those belonging to minority communities could result in targeted hate and even mob violence.
Moreover, the application contends that disguising these measures as “lawful license requirements” violates the vendors’ right to privacy. It argues that mandating the display of owners’, managers’, or employees’ names on external banners or QR codes, or requiring shops to adopt names reflecting the religious identity of their owners, exceeds what food safety and licensing regulations necessitate.
Case Title: Apoorvanand Jha and another v. Union of India and others, I.A in W.P(c) 328 of 2024