On Monday, the Supreme Court issued an interim order suspending the guidelines that required shopkeepers in Uttar Pradesh along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display their names. Instead, the court mandated that owners should only indicate the type of food served at their establishments.

A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti issued notices to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, which had implemented the 'nameplate order'. This development came during the hearing of a plea by the NGO, Association of Protection of Civil Rights, challenging the Uttar Pradesh government's directive.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the NGO, argued that the order was issued without legal authority, labeling it a "camouflage" tactic.

“It is a camouflaged order for the Kanwar Yatra. Violators will be fined if they do not display their names. We are talking about thousands of kilometres, and the bulk of these shops are tea stalls or fruit vendors. This order is economic death,” Singhvi stated.

“The larger issue is much more important. You choose a restaurant based on the menu, not the identity of who is serving. This directive aims at exclusion by identity, which is not the republic we envisaged in our Constitution,” he added.

Singhvi noted that Kanwar Yatras have taken place for decades with assistance from people of all religions and emphasized the importance of identity inclusion. “The order was issued without legal backing. What is the rationale behind requiring names to be displayed at eateries?” he questioned.

Advocate CU Singh, also representing the NGO, argued that the order lacked statutory support and served no practical purpose. “This has never been done before. There is no legal provision empowering the Police Commissioner to issue such a directive. Requiring tea stalls and other roadside shops to display names of employees and owners serves no purpose,” he said.

Last week, the Muzaffarnagar Police directed all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the owners’ names. The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government later expanded this order statewide, followed by similar measures in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

The directive faced backlash from the Opposition and some NDA allies, including the JD(U) and RLD, who alleged that it was "communal and divisive," targeting Muslims and Scheduled Castes (SCs) by forcing them to reveal their identities. However, the BJP, which governs Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, defended the move as necessary for law and order and to respect the religious sentiments of pilgrims.