SC To Hear PIL On QR Codes For Eateries On Kanwar Route
Each year, large numbers of devotees travel with kanwars carrying Ganga water to perform jalabhishek of Shivlings during the Hindu month of Shravan: Reports
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday a plea challenging the Uttar Pradesh government’s directive that all eateries along the Kanwar route display QR codes revealing the names and identities of their owners.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh will consider the public interest litigation filed by academician Apoorvanand Jha and others.
Last year, the apex court stayed similar directives issued by the BJP-ruled governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, which had required roadside eateries along Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners, staff and other details.
The petition cites a June 25 press release from the UP administration, noting: “The new measures mandate the display of QR codes on all eateries along the Kanwar route, which reveal the names and identities of the owners, thereby achieving the same discriminatory profiling that was previously stayed by this Court.”
It argues that the UP-government’s requirement for stall owners to disclose their religious and caste identities under “lawful licence requirements” violates their right to privacy.
Each year, large numbers of devotees travel with kanwars carrying Ganga water to perform jalabhishek of Shivlings during the Hindu month of Shravan. Many believers abstain from meat, and even from onions and garlic, throughout the month.