NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed all hotel owners along the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to display their license and registration certificates in accordance with statutory requirements.
The top court the consumer is the king and he must have the choice of knowing if a place was exclusively selling vegetarian items throughout.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh refused to interfere with the directive to shop owners in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to display QR code to enable devotees on Kanwar Yatra route to know their identity.
The court was not convinced as senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing one of the petitioners, contended that during the Kanwar Yatra period, the eateries along the route only sell vegetarian items as per the local regulations.
The court said that the consumer must have a choice, as it refused to interfere with the QR code directive for eateries along Kanwar Yatra route in UP and Uttarakhand.
"If a hotel is running as a vegetarian hotel all through, then the question of indicating names and other things will not arise, but if only for the purpose of yatra, somebody stops serving non-vegetarian food and starts selling vegetarian food, then the consumer should know," the bench said.
The court felt consumers should have that flexibility, and if a hotel was earlier serving non-veg, and for the purpose of better business, they serve only vegetarian during the yatra, that will be an issue for consideration from the point of view of the consumer.
"The choice is of the consumer, he can go to another hotel where they have been serving vegetarian (before the yatra)," the bench said.
The court clarified that it is only trying to find a middle path to balance the consumers' right to know while ensuring that there is no discrimination against any vendor based on religion.
"The consumer's demand or choice is met by the fact that today you are only served vegetarian. There was no need to disclose that earlier we (the eateries) were serving non-veg. It is going a bit too far. Name and identity of the owner, staff employed, or the religious identity has got nothing to do with food," Ahmadi said.
The bench said the original license, which shows it serves both non-veg food and veg food, should be displayed, and it cannot be changed.
“You can say we are only serving vegetarian food, but originally it was vegetarian and non-veg, somebody may be satisfied that if no non-veg is served, I am fine. Somebody will say I only prefer a hotel where vegetarian food is served throughout the year. It is his choice,” the bench said.
Ahmadi said the consumer's choice cannot become everything, and there should be a balance, and eatery owners have a right to run business, and today, serving of non-veg food in this country is not banned.
"That is a wrong understanding of consumerism. Consumer is the king. If we do not prioritise the consumer, then there is no point. He should know," the bench said.
The court said it was not going into the other issues of displaying the name of the hotel or dhaba owner and the QR code as the Kanwar Yatra is getting over very soon.
"We are told that today is the last day of the yatra. In any case, it is likely to come to an end in the near future. Therefore, at this stage, we would only pass an order that all the respective hotel owners shall comply with the mandate of displaying the licence and the registration certificate as per the statutory requirements," the bench said.
Ahmadi also submitted that the name of the owner and the QR code need not be disclosed, and emphasised that it has no backing in the law. He claimed that religious identity is being sought to be exposed.
However, the bench said it is not examining that aspect now, and if he intends to challenge it then he can move before the high court.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued for the Uttar Pradesh government. Senior advocate A M Singhvi appeared for the petitioner's side.
Rohatgi referred to a PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay in which, this court issued notice to the Centre and States. Upadhyay has sought a direction for mandating disclosure of identity of shop owners along with others to enable consumers to redress his grievances under the Consumer Protection Act.
A plea was filed by academician Apoorvanand Jha and others against the recent directive by the UP and Uttarakhand government.
The court had in 2024 put on hold similar directives issued by BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners, staff and other details.
A large number of devotees travel from various places with 'kanwars' carrying holy water from River Ganga to perform 'jalabhishek' of Shivlings during the Hindu calendar month of 'Sawan'. Many believers shun the consumption of meat during the month. Many don't even consume meals containing onions and garlic.
The application filed by Jha contended that the direction was contrary to the Supreme Court's order of 2024 which held that the sellers on the Kanwar Yatra route can’t be forced to disclose their identities.
It stated that the direction to display names of owners as well as of employees, at a prominent place
outside the shop, dhaba or restaurant, as being violative of Articles 14, 15, 17, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
The plea contended that these steps effectively served the same unconstitutional end through digital means, in wilful disobedience of the top court's directions.
The applicants sought immediate withdrawal and compliance of the top court's earlier orders, which stated that the directive to reveal religious, caste identities couched under the garb of "lawful license requirements" is a breach of privacy rights.
