"Cops Can't Force...": Supreme Court Pauses Kanwar Yatra Food Stalls Order

The Supreme Court has stayed, till Friday, a controversial Uttar Pradesh government order directing eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display names of owners and employees, noting police could not force shopkeepers and shop owners and that they could only be asked to display food items.

The order had been slammed by the opposition; AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi - who has claimed this move is to ensure no 'kanwariya (pilgrim) buys from a Muslim-owned shop - had compared it to Apartheid in South Africa and the boycotting of Jewish business in Nazi Germany.

The court, directing the UP government order be paused, referred to the "... implication of directives" and served notice to the UP, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh governments. Crucially, it also noted "... the threat of police action in the event of non-adherence to the directives..."

"...until returnable date we deem it appropriate to pass interim order prohibiting enforcement of directive. Food sellers must not be forced to display names of owners, staff..." the court ordered.

The bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice SVN Bhatti also made some strong observations this afternoon, noting "it is permissible for authorities to ensure kanwariyas (pilgrims) are served vegetarian food conforming to their preferences (and) maintaining hygienic standards".

"Compelling all proprietors to display names and address, also of their staff, can hardly achieve intended objective..." Justice Roy reasoned, also adding, "...without support of provisions, if the directive is permitted to be enforced... it will infringe the secular character of Republic of India."

The court was hearing petitions challenging the directive issued by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Muzaffarnagar, in Uttar Pradesh, to shop owners to display their names outside shops during the Kanwar Yatra season. The police had said that the decision was in the interest of law and order.

"Worrying Situation..."

Food, and who cooks and serves at restaurants, was at the core of arguments this morning.

"You go to a restaurant depending on the menu, not who is serving. The idea of this directive is exclusion by identity. This is not the Republic of India we envisaged in Constitution..." senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners, said forcefully.

"There are a lot of 'pure vegetarian' restaurants run by Hindus... but they may have Muslim employees. Can I say I won't eat there? Because food is somehow 'touched' by them?"

READ | Now, Madhya Pradesh Town Shop Owners Told To Display Names

The petitioners also flagged a "worrying situation where police are taking it upon themselves to create a divide... minorities would be identified and subject to boycott..." The reference was to the enforcement of what the authorities had said was a directive to be followed "voluntarily".

"It has never been done before... has no statutory backing. No law gives police power to do this. The directive is for every hath-gaadi (hand-cart), tea-stall... giving of names of owners and employees does not serve any purpose..." Mr Singhvi said, hitting out at the "camouflaged order".

Mr Singhvi underlined, for the court, the element of coercion in the directive. "News reports show a Municipal Corporation directive... that fines of Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 will be imposed..."

There was also a discussion on food safety and standards, to which Justice Bhatti had a humorous and telling anecdote. "There is one vegetarian hotel run by a Hindu and one by a Muslim in Kerala. As a judge in that state I used to go the one run by the Muslim. He had international standards..."

Kanwar Yatra Directive Voluntary?

The petitioners also countered authorities' insistence that the Kanwar Yatra directive is voluntary, claiming UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had "made a public statement that the directive must be enforced... so far as Uttarakhand, there was a similar statement (by Pushkar Singh Dhami)".

"This is being endorsed at the highest level in both UP and Uttarakhand... the effect is that employees of certain community have been fired after this," the petitioners argued.

Last week police in UP's Muzaffarnagar mandated all food joints along the route to prominently display names of owners. "This is being done to ensure there is no confusion among kanwariyas, and no allegations are raised in the future, leading to a law and order situation," the cops said.

"Everyone is following this of their own free will..." the police said at a press conference.

READ | 3 BJP Allies Question UP Order For Kanwar Yatra Eateries

Shortly afterwards the UP government extended this order across the state.

The opposition has slammed the directive and at least three allies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose support at the centre is crucial to the BJP, and union ministers Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal) and Chirag Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party).

Meanwhile, extensive arrangements have been made across states for the yatra that started this morning, as the month of Sawan begins in the Hindu calendar. During this time lakhs of Shiva devotees carry holy water from the Ganges in Haridwar to their homes and offer it at temples on their way.

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