SC Blocks UP, Uttarakhand Directives On Kanwar Yatra Shop Names, Allows Voluntary Display

The Supreme Court allowed shopkeepers along the Kanwar Yatra route to voluntarily display the names of their owners and employees outside their premises. However, the Court's interim order, which stays directives issued by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments, will remain in effect.

A bench consisting of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti was hearing petitions filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Professor Apoorvanand, and columnist Aakar Patel challenging directives issued by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments.

"For voluntarily displaying names there is no issue. Our order says that they cannot be forced to put out owner names and employee names outside the dhaba," India Today quoted the bench as saying.

During the proceedings, senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Moitra, noted that the Uttar Pradesh Government had submitted a counter-affidavit at 10:30 pm the previous day, necessitating additional time to file a rejoinder. The court noted that the counter-affidavit has not been filed, and the bench decided to adjourn the matter.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the State of Uttar Pradesh, argued that the regulations under the Central Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 mandate that all food sellers, including dhabas, display the names of their owners. Rohatgi contended that the Court's interim order, which stayed the directive to display these names, was inconsistent with this Central law and that the petitioners had not brought this to the Court's attention.

Responding to his argument, the court said: "Then let it be enforced all across the state... not only in certain areas. File a counter showing it has been enforced all over."

Singhvi claimed that there has been no requirement to display the names of shop owners during the Kanwar Yatra for the past 60 years. So, there was no harm in permitting the yatra this year without enforcing such rules, he argued. He pointed out that the UP government has admitted the order was discriminatory.

Singhvi added, "The temporary nature of the directives ensures that they do not inflict any permanent discrimination or hardship on the food sellers, simultaneously ensuring maintaining the sentiments of Kanwariyas and their religious beliefs and practices".

"So they say there is discrimination, but it is not permanent," Singhvi said.

The Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage undertaken by Shiva devotees, referred to as Kanwarias or 'Bhole.' During this journey, they travel to significant Hindu pilgrimage sites such as Haridwar, Gaumukh, and Gangotri in Uttarakhand, as well as Ajgaibinath in Sultanganj, Bhagalpur, Bihar, to collect sacred water from the Ganges River.