Kanwar Yatra nameplate row: The Supreme Court of India issued an interim stay on directives from the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments on Monday, which mandated eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to prominently display the names of their owners.
The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government and Pushkar Singh Dhami-led Uttarakhand government had issued a directive mandating eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to have nameplates of owners of the shops.
On Monday, the Supreme Court of India heard a plea filed by an NGO, the Association of Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), challenging the latest directive.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh governments while seeking their replies on the pleas challenging the directive.
Kanwar Yatra nameplate row: What the Supreme Court said
The bench said state police cannot force shopkeepers to display their names and can only be asked to display food items.
“This can be understood as not consuming non-vegetarian food, and for those who are strict, even onion and garlic. If the intention is to ensure such did for the Kanwariyas, the directives requiring food business owners to display their names and that of their employees is contended to be contrary to legal and constitutional norms.”