A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Uttar Pradesh government's orders to eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners at their outlets.
The Supreme Court will hear the petition, filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, against the UP government's directive on Monday (July 22).
A bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice SVN Bhatti is likely to hear the petition in the controversial move on Monday.
Earlier this week, the Muzaffarnagar police issued an order to all the eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in the district to display the names of their owners to avoid any confusion.
"All the eateries, including hotels, dhabas and carts, on the route have been asked to display the names of their proprietors or those working on these shops," district police chief Abhishek Singh had said.
Later the controversial order was extended by the Uttar Pradesh government across the state drawing criticism from the opposition.
The order has snowballed into a controversy with opposition parties, civil society and even BJP allies including the LJP, JD(U) and RLD also criticised the advisory.
Union minister and BJP ally Chirag Paswan unequivocally opposed it and said he would absolutely … never support or encourage any divide in the name of caste or religion.
Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi, criticising the advisory, said the Muzaffarnagar police should be withdrawn as it may cause communal tension and there should not be any discrimination based on religion or caste.
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary also demanded the state government roll back its order, saying the pilgrimage does not belong to any one religion or caste.
Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that the move is clearly targeted at Muslims and accused the ruling BJP in the state of pursuing communally divisive politics.
Lakhs of Shiva devotees, called Kanwariyas, visit Haridwar during the Kanwar Yatra every year during 'Shravan' (monsoon) to collect water from the Ganga. The order has not just impacted the earnings or Muslim owners and their staff but also Muslim staff working in eateries owned by Hindu owners.