Sudama Pal/Associate Editor
New Delhi. The Supreme Court has been issued noticed to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh governments on petitions challenging its directive asking to write the names of restaurant owners on Kanwariya Yatra route. The SC has ordered to stay orders of governments to write their names of shopkeepers.
During the hearing, Supreme Court judge Justice Bhatti said that I also have my own experience. There was a vegetarian hotel in Kerala which was owned by a Hindu, the other was owned by a Muslim. I used to go to the vegetarian hotel owned by a Muslim. Because its owner came from Dubai and he followed international standards in terms of cleanliness. Only need to tell whether the food is veg or non-veg.
Now the Supreme Court has sought a reply from the governments and has fixed the hearing of the case on July 26. The Supreme Court has said that food vendors should not be forced to write the names of owners and employees. Let us tell you that the matter of putting name plates outside the shops on the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh had reached the Supreme Court. An NGO named Association for Protection of Civil Rights challenged this matter in the Supreme Court. The organization has filed a petition regarding this, which was heard on Monday.
The order came in response to a petition filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) titled “Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) vs State of Uttar Pradesh and others” (Writ Petition (C) 463/2024). A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti passed the interim order while issuing notices on the petitions challenging the government directives.
Senior advocate CU Singh, advocate Fauzia Shakeel, and advocate on record (AOR) Ujjwal Singh appeared for APCR.
The APCR organisation has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, seeing it as an important step in protecting the rights of business owners. The organisation believes that such directives not only violate individual privacy but can also escalate communal tensions. Nadeem Khan, the in-charge of APCR, says that our organisation is committed to protecting civil liberties and will continue to advocate for policies that respect and protect the fundamental rights of all citizens.
