New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday extended its interim stay on the directives of the authorities from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh mandating eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes to must display prominently the names of their owners and staff.
Petitions before apex court challenged directives
The pleas, filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, academician Apoorvanand Jha and columnist Aakar Patel, and NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights, challenging the said directives were listed for hearing before a bench comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice R Mahadevan, however, the bench could not hear the pleas due to paucity of time but extended the interim stay.
The Shravan month started from July 22 and will last till August 19.
Apex court put an interim stay on directives on July 22
The top court had on July 22 put an interim stay on the directives of the authorities from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh and had later extended the interim stay during the next hearing into the matter.
“We deem it appropriate to pass an interim order prohibiting the enforcement of the impugned directives. In other words, the food sellers (including dhaba owners, restaurants, foods and vegetable sellers, hawkers, etc) may be required to display the kind of food that they are serving to the Kanwariyas. But they must not be forced to display the name/identity of the owners and also the employees, deployed in their respective establishments. It is ordered accordingly,” the apex court had directed in its order dated July 22.
Apex court sought response from Uttar Pradesh, others on pleas challenging directives
The top court, while staying the directives, had also sought the response from the state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and other states on the pleas challenging the said directives.
The Uttar Pradesh government, in its response, told the top court that the directives were issued to ensure that religious sentiments of kanwariyas aren’t hurt, even accidentally, and to ensure peace and tranquillity. It had further said that past incidents have shown that misunderstandings over the type of food sold have led to tensions and disturbances and the directives are a proactive measure to avoid such situations and it applies to all irrespective of their religious or community affiliations.