Kanwar Yatra eateries row: Supreme Court extends stay, says it can't mandate disclosure
The court granted additional time to the governments of Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh to file their responses and scheduled the next hearing in two weeks. The Uttar Pradesh government defended its directive in an affidavit submitted earlier on Friday.
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FollowThe Supreme Court on Friday (July 26) extended its interim order halting directives issued by the Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh governments, which required eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names and identities of their owners and staff. A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti stated that it would not provide further clarification on its July 22 order and said, "We have said what needed to be said in our July 22 order. We cannot force anyone to disclose names."
The court granted additional time to the governments of Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh to file their responses and scheduled the next hearing in two weeks. The Uttar Pradesh government defended its directive in an affidavit submitted earlier on Friday.
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The Supreme Court also dismissed an intervention application by Kanwar pilgrims who supported the state directives. They argued that the display of personal details would infringe on their fundamental rights to religious practices and customs.
In its affidavit, the Uttar Pradesh government argued that the directive was intended to promote transparency and ensure a peaceful Yatra. The government asserted that displaying shop owners' names would help Kanwariyas make informed decisions about their food choices during the pilgrimage, while also aiming to avoid potential conflicts.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had stopped the enforcement of the controversial directives from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which mandated the display of details about eatery owners and staff along the Kanwar Yatra route. The court also issued notices to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, where a similar order was implemented in Ujjain.
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