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The Supreme Court has given Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand one week to respond to a plea challenging the new QR code rule for food vendors during the Kanwar Yatra. The rule requires sellers to display QR codes on their banners, revealing the name and identity of the stall owners when scanned.
The petitioners argue that this move could lead to religious profiling. They claim it goes against a previous Supreme Court order that said vendors can't be forced to reveal personal information publicly. The case has now been posted for hearing next Tuesday, making it a time-sensitive issue as the yatra will end in about ten days.
The petition was filed by Professor Apoorvanand and activist Aakar Patel. They are being represented by Senior Advocates Shadan Farasat, Chander Uday Singh, and Huzefa Ahmadi. Their plea seeks a stay on all directives that require public disclosure of vendor identities through QR codes.
According to them, the QR code rule violates privacy and targets certain communities. As reported by Live Law, their plea stated, "The new measures mandate the display of QR codes on all eateries along the Kanwar route, which reveal the names and identities of the owners, thereby achieving the same discriminatory profiling that was previously stayed by this Hon'ble Court.”
The petition also questions the legality of the directive, stating that food vendors are already required to display licences inside their stalls, not on public boards. The applicants believe this move could lead to polarisation and even mob violence against vendors from minority communities.
The hearing was led by a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand had initially requested two weeks to respond. However, the court gave them only one week after the petitioners stressed the urgency due to the ongoing Kanwar Yatra.
The petition also highlights that equating QR code displays with regular licence rules is misleading. The application noted, "The license is already a self-contained document... Equating this with displaying names and identities on billboards is a clear overreach.”
The court’s decision next week could set an important decision for privacy rights and the protection of vendors during public religious events. Activists hope this plea will stop what they call an attempt at profiling disguised as regulation.