SC issues notice to UP govt over Kanwar Yatra diktat asking shopkeepers to reveal their identities

Kanwar Yatra 2025

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on plea against state's QR code directive for eateries along Kanwar Yatra route.

The state government's directive has mandated eateries and dhabas along the Kanwar Yatra route to display QR-code-enabled stickers linked to the Food Safety CONNECT app, which will contain ownership information.

The top court has asked the government to file its response by July 22, the next date of hearing. Kanwar Yatra started on July 11 this year and will continue till July 23, 2025.

The petitions, filed by Delhi University professor Apoorvanand Jha and activist Aakar Patel, argue that the QR code requirement amounts to a digital version of religious profiling, in violation of a previous Supreme Court order. In July 2023, the court had stayed similar directives by the governments of UP and Uttarakhand, which required food sellers and hawkers to publicly display the names of owners and staff, according to a report by The Times of India.

The petitions said the state government's directive asking stall owners to reveal religious and caste identities under "lawful license requirements" breaches the right to privacy of the shop, dhaba, and restaurant owners.

The plea sought a stay on all such directives requiring public disclosure of ownership or employee identity of food vendors along the Kanwar Yatra routes in UP and Uttarakhand.