New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said in its July 22 interim order, the court had made it clear that shop owners cannot be forced to display their names outside shops on the Kanwar Yatra route, and directed the continuation of its order staying the directives issued by the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh. The BJP-ruled states had asked the eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners, staff, and other details.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti said there should not be any insistence on anyone. A counsel argued that the petitioners are worried about the fundamental rights of the shop owners from the minority community and he is worried about the fundamental rights of several lakhs devotees, who undertake the Kanwar Yatra.
The counsel stressed that Kanwariyas do not consume non-veg food while undertaking the pilgrimage and sometimes shops claiming to be vegetarian are found to be serving non-veg food, while defending the Uttar Pradesh government directive. He insisted that if someone wants to display information, then they should.
"What is the difficulty? What had the court said (in its previous order), you will not be forced to do it….that is all we had said," said Justice Roy. The counsel asked the bench to clear the confusion in the order. Justice Roy said there is no confusion and the court won’t issue any clarification on the July 22 order.
Justice Roy told the counsel, "Suppose you are the shop owner, who is preventing you from displaying the information" and added that "we have said whatever we have said in our order…can't force anyone to disclose names”.
A counsel, appearing for some of the intervenors 'Kanwar yatris', submitted that the display of information was not a privileged one, and Kanwariyas wanted to have an informed choice. It was argued that some eateries carried Hindu Gods names but their owner and employees were of a different religion.
The Uttarakhand government led by Deputy Advocate General Jatinder Kumar Sethi submitted that the legal mandate has been enforced across the state during the festival but the interim order by the apex court has created problems.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the state government, contended that as per regulations under the Central law Food and Safety Standards Act, 2006, every food seller, including dhabas, was required to display the names of the owners and court’s interim order stay was not in line with this central law. The bench queried if it was so, why it was not enforced across the state.
Rohatgi urged the bench to fix the matter for consideration on Monday or Friday or the matter would become infructuous. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, representing Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, sought a time to file a response to the counter affidavit filed by the Uttar Pradesh government defending the directive issued by the SSP Muzaffarnagar and argued that there was no such mandate in the last 60 years.
The apex court also asked the Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to file their response to the pleas challenging their respective directives. The apex court has scheduled the matter for further hearing in the first week of August. On July 22, the apex court ordered an interim stay on the directives issued by the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh governments.
The Uttar Pradesh government, in a written response, said 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.
The state said it is obvious that for the crores of such pilgrims, many of whom are not literate, and who are walking barefoot with religious fervour, even small confusions regarding the kind of food they are served, has the potential to hurt their religious sentiments and cause flare ups, especially in a communally sensitive area like Muzaffarnagar.
The apex court was hearing pleas filed by Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, NGO Association of Protection of Civil Rights and others, opposing state governments directives asking eateries and stalls on the Kanwar Yatra route to display names of their owners.
