• Source:JND
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed all hotel owners along the Kanwar Yatra route to comply with statutory licensing and registration requirements. It also clarified that it is not going to address the issue of the QR Code mandate for now. The apex court was hearing a plea challenging the Uttar Pradesh government’s mandate, which directed food stall owners along the Kanwar Yatra route to display a QR Code at their shops for alleged disclosure of their identities, among other details. Kanwar Yatra began on July 11 and will continue till July 23, 2025.

“At this stage, all the respective hotel owners shall comply with the mandate of license and registration certificate as required statutorily. We make it clear that we’re not going into the issues being argued. The application stands closed”, the Court stated in its order.

UP Govt Dismisses Allegations

The Uttar Pradesh government had dismissed the allegations that it is forcing people to reveal religious and caste identities through its directive. The response came after an academician and DU Professor, Apurvanand Jha challenged the UP government's order citing previous stays on similar "discriminatory profiling."

The Supreme Court on July 15 issued a notice to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government seeking a reply to the plea.

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“The directive mandating QR coding of eateries in the state does not require disclosure of religious identity… The petitioner in the captioned applications has made a vague and unsubstantiated allegation that eateries along the Kanwar Route have been required to display QR codes linked to the Food Safety Connect App that would allegedly reveal the names and religious/ caste identity of owners,” the UP government said in an affidavit before the apex court, as per Hindustan Times.

The state also clarified that the QR code only allows a user to download the app.

“Therefore, any presumption that such QR codes are being used by the state for targeted religion profiling is factually incorrect and merits immediate dismissal with exemplary costs,” it added.

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Kanwar Yatra 2025: What's The QR Code Rule?

Under the updated guidelines for the Kanwar Yatra, all food stalls along the pilgrimage route are now required to display QR code-enabled stickers linked to the Food Safety Connect App. Scanning the code reveals key information such as the vendor’s name, registration number, address and menu.

The Food Safety and Drug Administration has also instructed vendors to prominently display food prices. During inspections in major cities including Lucknow, Ayodhya, Meerut, and Muzaffarnagar, officials destroyed uncovered juice containers and expired food items.

Although the Uttar Pradesh government has not issued fresh directives regarding nameplates or religious identification ahead of this year’s yatra, the mandatory digital sticker has sparked comparisons to a July 2024 directive. At that time, the UP Police had instructed shopkeepers on the Kanwar route to display their names and contact numbers, a move that drew criticism from Opposition parties.