The Supreme Court on July 22 prohibited the enforcement of directives issued by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments requiring food stalls en route the Kanwar Yatra to prominently exhibit the names and other identity details of their owners and employees.
A Bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S.V.N. Bhatti said stalls, hawkers, vegetable sellers, dhaba owners, etc., on the Kanwariya route were free to display the kind of food they sold but should not be compelled by the police to display the names or, for that matter, the caste or religious identity of their owners or employees.
The court said it was permissible for authorities to ensure that Kanwariyas were served vegetarian food, conforming to standards of hygiene and according to their dietary preferences. However, the police could not usurp the powers of municipal authorities through orders that restrict freedoms without the support of law.
The court acknowledged that the impact of the directives was spread across multiple States, requiring it to judicially intervene immediately.
The Bench issued notice to States through which the yatra traverses, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. It said States not impleaded, but through which the yatra would pass, shall be issued suo motu notice. The court listed the case on Friday.
The order came on separate petitions filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, represented by senior advocate C.U. Singh and others, including Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, academic Apoorvanand Jha, and columnist Aakar Patel.
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The petitioners argued that the directives affected the secular character of the nation, infringed the secular values enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution, and violated fundamental rights of equality, caste non-discrimination, and dignity of life.
The directives had led to the forcible retrenchment of employees working in the shops en route the Kanwar Yatra, amounting to the violation of the fundamental right to earn a livelihood or do business or trade.
“It would require very large boards to display the names, caste and other identity details of the owners and all the employees. This is sheer exclusion by identity,” senior advocate A.M. Singhvi submitted.
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Those who ignored the directives either had to pay hefty fines or face legal proceedings. The directives were compulsory in nature though couched in language suggesting shop owners could take a voluntary decision.
“There is a Catch-22 situation here... If I don’t put my name, I will be fined. If I put my name, I may be discriminated against owing to my religious identity or caste,” Mr. Singhvi said.
Senior advocate Huzeifa Ahmadi, for Mr. Jha and Mr. Patel, said the directives formalised a “form of untouchability”.
“They created an apprehension in the minds of employees. They are made to feel that they are unsafe unless they display their names,” Mr. Ahmadi argued.
