New Delhi: The order to write names on shops on the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The petition of NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights was heard in the Supreme Court on Monday. In the petition, the order to write the names and mobile numbers of the owners on the shops on the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh has been challenged in the Supreme Court. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and lawyer CU Singh presented the case on behalf of the petitioner in the bench of Justice Rishikesh Rai and Justice SVN Bhatti. It was said on behalf of the petitioner that the UP government is pressurizing the shopkeepers to display their names and mobile numbers. This is not limited to Dhaba only. Pressure is also being put on street vendors so that a particular community can be economically boycotted. On this, the Supreme Court said that this is voluntary. This is not mandatory.
The petitioner said that this is like economic death for the vendors. Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the vendors need a big board. All the information will have to be shared on it. If it was pure vegetarian, it would have been understandable. On this, the Supreme Court asked whether the government has passed any formal order in this regard? On this, Singhvi argued that the government is implementing it indirectly. The Police Commissioner is issuing such instructions. Singhvi said that the Kanwar Yatra has been going on for centuries. There was no such thing earlier.
The Supreme Court told the petitioner’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi that you should not tell us the situation in this way. Tell us the ground reality. It has three dimensions – security, standards and secularism. All three are equally important. Justice SVN Bhatti said this when Singhvi said that this is a boycott of identity. This is an economic boycott. Singhvi further said that first the Meerut Police and then the Muzaffarnagar Police issued the notice. He said that the Muzaffarnagar Police very cleverly wrote the word voluntary.
At the same time, lawyer CU Singh said that reports have revealed that the Municipal Corporation has directed that a fine of Rs 2000 and Rs 5000 will be imposed. At the same time, Abhishek Singhvi said that there are many pure vegetarian restaurants run by Hindus… but they may also have Muslim employees. Can anyone say that I should not go there and eat? Because those people have a hand in that food in some way or the other?
On this, the Supreme Court said that do the Kanwariyas think that they should get food from a selected shopkeeper? On this, Singhvi said that Sir, Kanwariyas are not doing the Yatra for the first time. They have been doing it before. On this, the court asked whether anyone is appearing from the other side (UP government)? After hearing Singhvi’s arguments, Justice Bhatti said in the Supreme Court that this is my personal experience. In Kerala, a vegetarian hotel is being run by a Hindu and a vegetarian hotel by a Muslim. But I went to the Muslim hotel. There was cleanliness there. The standards of safety, standards and hygiene were of international level. That’s why I went there. This is completely a matter of your choice.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi demanded a stay on the government order. Abhishek Singhvi said that there are only 2 conditions in the Food Safety Act… only calories and vegetarian/non-vegetarian food have to be displayed. Justice Bhatti said that the license will also have to be displayed. Singhvi further said that this is not the job of the police… how can the police issue such broad instructions?
Tags: Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kanwar Yatra, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 22, 2024, 12:56 IST