The Supreme Court’s decision has come in the Kawad Yatra QR code case.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld the Uttar Pradesh government’s order to install QR codes in shops and dhabas on the Kanwar Yatra route. In the hearing held on Tuesday, the court did not give any relief to the petitioners and said that all hotels and dhaba owners would have to display license and registration certificates under statutory rules. The court also clarified that it is not considering other disputed issues at this time.
What was the government’s argument on QR code?
The court said, ‘We have been told that today is the last day of Kavad Yatra. It is likely to end in the near future. Therefore, at this time we only order that all the concerned hotel owners should display license and registration certificate according to statutory requirements. ‘ Every year, during the Kavad Yatra performed by millions of Shiva devotees in the month of Sawan, the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand government had ordered the installation of QR code to eateries, dhabas and shops located on the journey route. On scanning these QR codes, the names, religion and other information of the shop owners were revealed. The government argued that this step was taken to ensure food security and to inform the pilgrims about the cleanliness of the shops.
What was the plea of the petitioners?
Delhi University Professor Apoorwanand Jha, social activist Size Patel, TMC MP Mahua Moitra and NGO ‘Association for Protection of Civil Rights’ filed a petition in the Supreme Court. The petition stated that the order to impose QR code is not only a violation of the right to privacy, but it can promote discrimination on religious grounds. The petitioners termed it a contempt of 2024 order of the Supreme Court, in which the court clarified that shopkeepers could not be forced to reveal their identity. He said that this order can damage social harmony and lead to targeting some communities.
What was the decision last year?
Last year, the Supreme Court stayed the order of the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, in which the shopkeepers were asked to make the names of themselves and their employees public on the Kanwar Yatra route. The court then said that shopkeepers will only have to tell what they are selling food, not to reveal their identity. The petitioners said that the new order of the QR code is an attempt to implement the same discriminatory policy in a digital manner. However, now the Supreme Court has abolished the petition keeping the order of the UP government in this case.
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