DISPLAY MENU, NOT OWNER'S NAME: SC

New Delhi, NT Bureau: The Supreme Court on Monday imposed an interim stay on directives passed by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display names of owners.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh governments while seeking their replies on the pleas challenging the directive. No one appeared for the state governments in the matter.

They were completely unconstitutional orders of governments... we hope that the prime minister makes his chief ministers aware of their ‘raj dharma (solemn duty)’. But then, he is the same PM, who when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajapyee asked him to follow ‘raj dharma’ but he defied Atal ji. —Congress’ leader Pawan Khera

The top court was hearing pleas filed by NGO Association of Protection of Civil Rights, TMC MP Mahua Moitra and others challenging the directive.

In her plea before the top court, Moitra had sought a stay on the orders passed by the two state governments saying such directives aggravate discord between communities. The petitioners contended that the directives would facilitate discrimination on the grounds of religion and caste, and that they violate fundamental rights.

During the Kanwar Yatra, devotees, called Kanwariyas, walk hundreds of kilometres to collect water from the Ganga near Haridwar and carry it back to their home states to offer at temples.

The directives invited criticism from various quarters, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s allies in the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre. The BJP is in power in both states.

They want to spread hatred, want to cause riots. Any amount of criticism is not enough for this policy of the BJP. —Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut

The Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments had issued orders, asking eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route to display names of owners. Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh, who represented Association for Protection of Civil Rights, said that while the authorities were claiming it was voluntarily done, the directive was being enforced.

"It is not based on any statutory backing. No law gives the police commissioner power to do this. Only whether it is vegetarian etc needed to be mentioned. Not just for dhabas but now for every seller. It does not serve any objective. Our Constitution fortunately does not say a person is barred from running places that serve certain food," Singh submitted, according to Bar and Bench.

"Supreme Court in a most welcome judgment has stayed the utterly communal, divisive Manuvadi order of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to display names of all shop owners along the Kanwaria route," the CPI(M) said in a post on X. CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda Karat said the directives were divisive and communal.

"This is really a slap in the face of the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments," she added.