Kanwar Yatra: Supreme Court Issues Notice on Plea Against QR Code Profiling of Vendors Along Route
Court issues notice on plea seeking withdrawal of QR code mandates for vendors during Kanwar Yatra; plea alleges religious profiling, violation of constitutional rights;
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on an application seeking urgent directions to the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to withdraw any QR code-based identification or similar mechanisms that result in the disclosure of vendor identity or religious profiling along the Kanwar Yatra routes.
The Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice NK Singh was hearing an interlocutory application (IA) filed by academician Apoorvanand Jha in a pending writ petition from last year.
The application specifically sought a stay on any state action, oral, written or digital, mandating the public disclosure of food vendors’ ownership or employee details, including through the use of QR codes, during the course of the annual Kanwar Yatra.
As the matter was taken up, counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh informed the Bench that Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the State, was held up in another court and requested a passover.
Another counsel representing one of the respondents submitted that the application had just been served and sought time to file a reply.
When the Court asked whether this was after notice, the counsel confirmed.
The Court then inquired how much time would be needed to file a response, to which 10 days was sought.
However, Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for one of the petitioners, pointed out the urgency, noting that the Kanwar Yatra had already commenced two days ago and would conclude in the next 10 to 12 days. “If they want a couple of days, we won’t oppose, but this is time-sensitive,” Farasat submitted.
Taking note of the urgency, the Court granted a week’s time to the respondents to file their replies.
The matter is now scheduled to be heard next Tuesday, July 22.
The Court also directed that notice be issued in all the interlocutory applications and asked the petitioners to serve copies of the same to the respondents.
About the Application
The Application seeks directions to the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to immediately withdraw all QR code-based identification mandates or any other mechanisms that result in disclosure of owner identity or religious profiling of vendors along the Kanwar Yatra route.
The plea moved by Apoorvanand Jha in a writ petition pending from last year, also seeks a stay on all further actions taken pursuant to directives (whether oral, written or digital, including via QR codes) requiring or facilitating public disclosure of ownership/employee identity of food vendors along Kanwar Yatra routes in the States of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
As per the applicant, despite the above orders, the State of Uttar Pradesh and other authorities are circumventing the stay by reintroducing the same directive stating that, ‘As in the previous year, the name of the operator should be clearly displayed at each shop’ under the garb of public safety and maintenance of law and order.
"..vague and overbroad directives deliberately mix up the licensing requirements with the other unlawful demand to display religious identity, and leave scope for violent enforcement of such a manifestly arbitrary demand both by vigilante groups and by authorities on the ground", the application filed through AOR Akriti Chaubey submitted.
Accordingly, a direction has been sought for the states to file affidavits explaining how current mandates do not violate the Court’s earlier stay or constitutional rights.
Previously
Last year, the Supreme Court had stayed the enforcement of directives issued by the state government of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, directing the shop owners along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their names.
The Court was told last year that while the impugned orders had been issued to ensure that the Kanwariyas are served vegetarian food, maintaining hygienic standards, the same should be issued by competent authority under the FSSAI Act, 2006.
"To require the vendors to display the name of the owners and the staff in his establishment cannot by itself be termed as a measure to ensure vegetarian or shudh sakahari food...the dietary choice of the yatris can certainly be ensured by requiring only shakahari food to be served on the route of the Kanwarias...", Supreme Court had noted in its order.
In an affidavit, the state government had maintained that the directive was issued solely in the interest of ensuring a peaceful completion of the Kanwar Yatra, in which more than 4.07 Crores of Kanwariyas participate annually.
Case Title: Apoorvanand Jha & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.