Kanwar Yatra Name Plate Order: Ordering the continuation of its interim order in the Kanwar Yatra name plate case, the Supreme Court on Friday said eateries will not be forced to display owner or employee names outside their establishments till the verdict in the matter is delivered. The UP government had earlier made it mandatory for shopowners along the Kanwar Yatra route to prominently display their names, reported legal news website Bar and Bench
However, the Supreme Court said anyone who voluntarily wants to display ownership details outside their shops and eateries can do so and there is no bar on that. The next hearing on the matter will be held on August 5.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti was hearing the matter on Friday.
Kanwar Yatra Order: What The UP Government Argued
The Yogi Adityanath government earlier argued that its decision was not aimed at any community nor would the order hamper the business interests of shops and eateries. Rather, it said, the directive was to ensure that peace and tranquillity were maintained during the Kanwar Yatra. The government had argued that its order aimed to ensure public safety given the "potential for communal tensions". "Past incidents have shown that misunderstandings regarding the type of food being sold have led to tensions and disturbances," the government's reply to the SC read.
Mukul Rohatgi, the counsel for the UP Government, told the Supreme Court that similar arrangements had also been made during Muharram and Eid and that the movement of pigs had been restricted during that period to avoid hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims, reported legal news website Bar & Bench. The UP government also argued that the Kanwar Yatra name-plate order was issued only after the administration received complaints from Kanwariyas. "The idea behind the directive is to ensure transparency and provide an informed choice to Kanwarias regarding the food they consume during Sawan."
The court was told that an application was also filed on behalf of a group of Kanwariyas. Mukul Rohatgi said that a unilateral ban has been imposed on the instructions of the state government. This matter should be heard soon, otherwise the yatra will be over.
In response to this, the petitioner's lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that this order had not come for 60 years. "If it is not implemented this year, nothing will go wrong. The court should decide after hearing it in detail," he said. On this, Rohatgi said that it is a central law that restaurant owners should display their names.