Latest News in India: The Supreme Court, on Monday, vacated a temporary injunction imposed on the state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, which mandated restaurant owners along the Kanwar Yatra (Kavadi Yatra) route to display the name outside their eateries.
The Supreme Court has ordered that shop owners are not required to display their name or identification in front of shops. It also said the shops should only put food that is under preparation. Bench expressed its dissatisfaction that orders issued by the governments were contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.
A bench led by Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti issued notices to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh and sought its response to the petitions challenging the judgment.
The top court held that there was no necessity to compel the vendors to maintain records pertaining to the identities of their customers and employees.
The next hearing on the matter was fixed by the court for July 26. “We have no objection to passing any interim order that restrains the implementation of directions by the government. Food articles should be kept outside the shops. But the name need not be visible to the employees and owners,” the bench directed the Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh governments to file their replies to the petition filed against the decisions of the governments.
Kavadi Yatra literally means: The followers of Lord Shiva collect water from the Ganga River in Shravana Masam every year, and take it back to their homes within a month. This year’s yatra commenced today. Elaborate security plans for the yatra have been prepared by the two state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
However, a directive by the governments of Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, asking shop owners to display their names, has created a dispute where the opposition parties have questioned this decision. This is an attack on people of color.