Kanwar Yatra : SC refuses to examine legality of QR code order, directs hotel owners to display licences & registration

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to delve into the the legality of the directives issued by the authorities in Uttar Pradesh to the eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display QR codes which would enable the pilgrims to know the details of the owners.

However, the court maintained that all the respective hotel owners shall comply with the mandate of license and registration certificate as required statutorily.

The apex court was hearing a plea challenging the Uttar Pradesh government’s mandate, which directed food stall owners along the Kanwar Yatra route to display a QR Code at their shops, disclosing their identities, among other details.

“At this stage, all the respective hotel owners shall comply with the mandate of license and registration certificate as required statutorily. We make it clear that we’re not going into the issues being argued. The application stands closed”, the Court stated in its order.

On July 15, the apex court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to respond within a week to a series of petitions challenging the state’s order requiring all eateries along the ‘Kanwar’ yatra route to display QR codes revealing the names and identities of their owners.

The petition was filed by academician Apoorvanand Jha and others, who argued that the directive violates the right to privacy and amounts to discriminatory profiling under the guise of lawful licensing.

Referring to a press release issued by the Uttar Pradesh administration on 25 June, the petitioners said the QR code mandate replicates earlier directives that were stayed by the Supreme Court last year. At that time, the court had put on hold similar instructions from BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, which required food stall and eatery owners along the yatra route to disclose their names, staff details, and religious affiliations.