Used To Visit Veg Hotel Run By Muslim In Kerala: Supreme Court Judge Amid Kanwar Yatra Eateries Order Row

Batting for hygiene at eateries, Supreme Court judge SVN Bhatti said on Monday he used to frequent a vegetarian restaurant run by a Muslim while posted in Kerala as it maintained international standards of hygiene.

Justice Bhatti shared his experience when he was with Justice Hrishikesh Roy on a bench hearing pleas against directives issued by BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The top court stayed the directives asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners and staff but said they may be required to display information about the kind of food they are serving like they are vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

"I have my experience and knowledge when I was in Kerala. I may not state openly as I am a sitting judge of this court. Without disclosing the name of the city, there is a vegetarian hotel run by a Hindu. There is another vegetarian hotel run by a Muslim.

"As a judge of that state, I was going to the hotel run by a Muslim for vegetarian food. When it comes to food standard and safety, he was displaying everything. He had returned from Dubai. He was maintaining international standards with regard to safety, cleanliness and hygiene. So it was my choice to go to that hotel," Justice Bhatti said.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, said," You chose by menu card and not name." Singhvi said as a consequence of the directives, services of some employees of the eateries have been terminated.

He asserted the directives lack any constitutional or legal backing and infringe upon the secular character of the country.

The top court said the directions and their enforcement will have implications for multiple states in the country where Kanwar Yatra takes place.

The bench issued notice to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, where the Ujjain municipal body has issued a similar directive, on a host of petitions against the orders.

The top court was hearing a batch of pleas including those by Moitra, academician Apoorvanand Jha and columnist Aakar Patel, and NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights challenging the directives.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)