Police in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, have booked a school teacher after a video surfaced online of him singing a song that references the Kanwar Yatra. The teacher is accused of making statements containing false information and alarming news.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh said it was not going into the other issues over display of names of the hotel or dhaba owner and the QR code, Tuesday being the last day of the Kanwar Yatra.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea challenging the state's directive mandating the display of QR codes on all eateries along the kanwar yatra route, which reveal the names and identities of the owners.
Hindu seers in Uttarakhand have urged the state government to ban non-Hindus from participating in the Kanwar Yatra and operating businesses along the pilgrimage route.
"This entire period is highly sensitive in terms of law and order, healthcare, sanitation, education, and disaster management. Hence, all related departments and district administrations must work with coordination and accountability," Adityanath said, according to an official statement.
In a post on X, Thackeray also claimed that those who attended Bhagwat's programme in Mumbai on February 7-8 to mark the RSS centenary did not come out of love for him but due to the fear of Narendra Modi's government.
A bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti is likely to hear the plea filed by NGO Association of Protection of Civil Rights.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera called the order "state-sponsored bigotry".
In the backdrop of the Muzaffarnagar police's order asking eateries on the Kanwar yatra route to display their owners' names, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday said it may spread the 'disease of untouchability'.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday defended its directive requiring eateries along the kanwar yatra route to display the names of their owners and staff, saying the idea was to bring in transparency, avoid 'potential confusion' and ensure a peaceful yatra.
The Supreme Court on Monday imposed an interim stay on directives passed by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display names of owners.
A Muslim man used to work on the tandoor at my restaurant. But due to this issue, I asked him to leave. Because people can make an issue over it. We don't want such trouble here
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti said it won't issue any clarification on the July 22 order as "We have said what needed to be said in our July 22 order. Can't force anyone to disclose names."
Ramdev said one does not need to hide their name, but do one's work with truth and honesty.
The incident has brought back into focus the controversy that erupted last year when BJP-led governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand directed food outlets along the Kanwar route to display the names of their owners and staff.
A senior Uttar Pradesh government official has issued directives to ensure the safe and smooth completion of the Kanwar Yatra, including banning outsiders from entering camps, enforcing a ban on single-use plastic, and providing basic facilities to kanwariyas.
The yatra goes on till the first week of August and sees thousands of Shiva devotees called kanwariyas' travelling mostly on foot from neighbouring states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi to collect water from the Ganges in Haridwar.
"No celebrations, processions, gatherings, etc. shall be allowed during forthcoming Kanwar Yatra-2021 starting from July 25 in NCT of Delhi," stated an order issued by the DDMA.
Route inspection for Kanwar Yatra and peace meetings with Hindu and Muslim community members came on instructions of police commissioner Alok Singh, according to a police statement
Uttarakhand has cancelled the yatra this year citing the pandemic.
A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman referred to the statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that not "even a bit" of compromise can be made on COVID-19 containment and said the citizens were perplexed about the happenings in view of the fact that as the UP government has allowed the religious 'yatra' commencing from July 25.
The local, district and police administration are reaching out to meat traders to ensure this, officials said.
It is for the second consecutive year that the yatra is not being held due to the pandemic.
A large crowd of devotees came to visit the temple, which is atop the Shivalik Hills at an elevation of over 500 feet, and a rumour about an electricity current leak triggered panic among them that led to pushing and shoving.
Two people died and 30 others were injured when a truck carrying kanwariyas came into contact with a hanging overhead power line in Alwar district, Rajasthan. The incident occurred during a parikrama, leading to protests and accusations of negligence against the electricity department.
The family of an Army jawan, Kapil, recounts the brutal assault he endured at a toll plaza in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. They describe the attack and the injuries he sustained, while police investigate and make arrests.
Following the collision, the driver fell from the bus and the passenger vehicle, without anyone behind the steering wheel, continued moving for some time and stopped after hitting a stack of bricks, the IG said.
Delhi police arrest 13 individuals, including minors, for the murder and sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy, allegedly in retaliation for informing on a rival gang member.
Chirag Paswan said he believes two classes of people -- rich and poor -- exist in the society and persons of different castes and religions fall in both categories.
A bench of Justices R F Nariman and B R Gavai said that it is of the prima face view that all kinds of sentiments are subservient to Article 21 of the Constitution.
The Opposition had dubbed the directives issued by the three states as divisive and discriminatory against Muslims, and the apex court's order effectively ensured that the Yatra was held without their orders being enforced.
A seemingly innocuous word, "bhai" (brother), led to a 13-minute disruption in the Delhi Assembly on Thursday, with the ruling BJP and the opposition AAP engaging in heated exchanges. The incident began when PWD minister Parvesh Verma used the word during a debate on the Teerth Yatra Samiti, prompting AAP MLAs to accuse him of disrespect. Three AAP MLAs were marshalled out by the Speaker amid the uproar, which even saw BJP legislators chanting slogans of "Chhathi maiya ki jai".
An Uttar Pradesh government spokesperson said a formal order for all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state was likely to be issued soon.
Yadav further accused the BJP of "using distractions" to avoid addressing real issues such as rising unemployment, inflation, lack of investment in Uttar Pradesh, and failing healthcare facilities.
Violators will have to pay a Rs 2,000 fine for the first offence and Rs 5,000 if they defy this order for the second time, Ujjain Mayor Mukesh Tatwal said on Saturday.
Police have intensified security in some areas of Ghaziabad district and imposed more traffic curbs after a car allegedly hit some kanwariyas in Muradnagar, who then thrashed the driver and vandalised the vehicle, an official said on Sunday.
The mosque's maulana and the mazar's caretakers said they were not aware of any administrative order in this regard and claimed this was for the first time that such a step had been taken during the yatra.
As many as nine Kanwariyas died and several others were injured when their vehicle came in contact with a high-voltage overhead wire in Bihar's Hajipur.
'There is one way to defeat the intention behind this directive: To patronise Muslim establishments that have been forced to identify themselves.' 'This is one opportunity for the Congress to show that the 'mohabbat ki dukaan' its leader talks about does exist.' 'Can Akhilesh Yadav, who has asked the court to take note of this directive, order his party members to do this?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
The National Green Tribunal has been informed by the Uttar Pradesh government's environment department that over 1.12 lakh trees will be felled in the protected forest area in the state to make way for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra route.
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