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New Delhi, 26 July (HS). In the matter of writing the names of shop owners on the Kanwar Yatra route, the Supreme Court has clarified that its interim order prohibiting the writing of the names of shop owners selling food items outside the shop on the Kanwar Yatra route will continue.
The bench headed by Justice Hrishikesh Rai said that our order is clear. If someone wants to write his name outside the shop on his own will, then we have not stopped him. Our order was that one cannot be forced to write the name. The Supreme Court directed the Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh governments to file a counter affidavit. The next hearing of the case will be on August 5.
Today, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for petitioner Mahua Moitra, said that the counter affidavit of the Uttar Pradesh government was received at 10:30 pm last night. He asked for time to file a reply to it. The court said that the affidavit of the UP government has not yet come in the court records. After that, the court postponed the hearing till August 5 and also extended the interim order.
The UP government has said in an affidavit filed in the court that these instructions have been brought only after the complaints of the Kanwariyas. Keeping in mind the religious sentiments of the Kanwariyas, this instruction has been given for transparency regarding the food they eat during the journey. The UP government has said that the Kanwariyas should know what they are eating and where they are eating. Instructions have been brought to ensure peace, security and comprehensive transparency in the Kanwar Yatra.
The Supreme Court had put an interim stay on this order on 22 July. The Supreme Court had said in its order that Dhaba, Restaurant, fruit and vegetable vendors, hawkers can tell what type of food they are serving to the Kanwariyas but they cannot be forced to reveal the names of the shop owners or the people working for them. The Supreme Court had said that the authorities can ensure that the Kanwariyas get vegetarian food and a high level of hygiene is also maintained. The Supreme Court had said in the order that the competent authority can also issue orders under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and the Street Vendor Act 2014, but the police cannot usurp the rights that the competent authority has in this regard without any legal basis.
Several petitioners, including the NGO Association of Protection of Civil Rights, have filed the petition. Apart from the UP government, the state DGP and the SSP of Muzaffarnagar, the Uttarakhand government has also been made a party in this petition.
It is noteworthy that on July 19, the Uttar Pradesh government issued an order making it mandatory for all shopkeepers on the Kanwar route to write their names outside their shops. This order has created a political uproar.
