No bar on voluntary nameplates on Kanwar route shops: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday clarified that it has not prevented anyone from voluntarily displaying the names of owners and staff on shops along the Kanwar yatra route and that its stay order is only against forcing anyone to do so.

A division bench comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice SVN Bhatti extended its interim order staying the directives of the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that the eateries along the Kanwar pilgrim route must display the names of the owners and the staff.

The stay order will continue till August 5, the next date for next hearing.

The bench was hearing petitions filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra, Professor Apoorvanand and columnist Aakar Patel against the directives of the UP and Uttarakhand governments.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh, said that the regulations under the Central law Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 require every food seller, including dhabas, to display the names of the owners.

The interim order passed by the Court staying the directive to display the names of the owners was not in line with this Central law, as it was not brought to its notice by the petitioners, Rohatgi submitted

The Bench asked whether there was any such law, that the State should be enforcing throughout all areas, the bench stated.

"Then let it be enforced all across... not only in certain areas. File a counter showing it has been enforced all over...," Justice Roy said.

Rohatgi said that the petitioners had the duty to inform the Court about the existence of such a law.

Deputy Advocate General of Uttarakhand, Jatinder Kumar Sethi, submitted that the law mandates the display of the owners' names and that the interim order was creating problems.

He stated that this legal mandate was being enforced by the State all over during all festivals. If an unregistered vendor causes any mischief along the Kanwar Yatra route, it will lead to law and order problems, he submitted.

The bench asked the Deputy AG to elaborate on what could be "mischief", he cited an example of an unregistered vendor selling mangoes laced with sedatives to pilgrims.

The bench also heard the brief submissions made by certain Kanwar pilgrims, who intervened in the matter to support the government's directions.

The intervenor submitted that Kanwar pilgrims only take vegetarian food items prepared without garlic and onion.

There are certain shops with confusing names, giving a false impression that they serve only vegetarian food causing problems to pilgrims, he submitted.

"There are shops with names like Saraswati Dhaba, Ma Durga Dhaba. We assume it is pure vegetarian. When we enter the shop, the owners and the employees are different, and non-vegetarian food items are served there. It is against my custom and usages," he submitted.

It was in this context that the Muzaffarpur police issued the advisory to display the names "voluntarily", he submitted.

On the last date of hearing, the Court issued notice to UP, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi on three petitions filed against the directives.

It also stayed the directives, saying that shops and eateries may be required to display the kind of food that they are selling to Kanwariyas. However, they must not be forced to display the names/identities of owners and employees deployed in the establishments.