Top Indian court puts on hold discriminatory order against eateries

NEW DELHI

India's Supreme Court on Monday put on hold directives issued by authorities in two Indian states for eateries to identify their owners.

The court passed the interim order while issuing notice on a batch of petitions challenging the government directives, legal news website lawlaw reported.

The bench, however, clarified that the eateries should display the type of food being served, it said.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, India's largest socioreligious Muslim organization, expressed concern about the order in the northern Uttar Pradesh state and Uttarakhand, asking eateries -- including roadside carts -- to display the names of their owners to "avoid confusion" during a Hindu holy pilgrimage when thousands of worshippers will make the journey on foot.

Last week, police in the Uttar Pradesh state's Muzaffarnagar district initially ordered all eateries along the pilgrimage route to display the names of their owners.

Subsequently, a non-governmental organization and several others moved to Supreme Court regarding the order.

Days later, the state government had extended the controversial order across the state, according to local media.

Police in Haridwar in neighboring Uttarakhand’s Haridwar issued similar directions Friday.

Opposition leaders have criticized the government for the order.

A minister from Uttar Pradesh, however, defended the government's stance as a "matter of social harmony."

The yearly pilgrimage takes place from July 22 to Aug. 2, which is the Hindu holy month of Sawan. Hindu devotees of the god Shiva trek for days or weeks at a time to pilgrimage spots along the sacred Ganges river in order to gather water to be offered at Shiva temples.

The majority of the pilgrims are young males who travel to and from temple towns via states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan.

Usually, police are called in to keep the peace and there are traffic restrictions in place. However, there have been reports of violence and vandalism in recent years as a result of the lack of crowd management as huge groups of young men pass through popular cities, sometimes walking in the center of the road.