An interfaith couple was allegedly denied a room at an Oyo hotel in Jaipur on Saturday, October 5, on the ground that they practice different religions.

The couple, a Muslim man and a Hindu woman, tried to check into one of Oyo’s SilverKey hotels in Jaipur booked through a travel app, when they were told that they could not be given room as they are from different religions.

“I reached Jaipur on Saturday morning, and my friend was supposed to reach later from Delhi. I reached the hotel somewhere around 8-9 am. The receptionist then asked me about the other person who was to check in with me, and I gave them my friend’s name, but to my shock, I was told that this is a problem. Both of you are from different religions, and we can’t check you in’,” the man told The Indian Express.

The man, a 31-year-old who is an assistant professor based in Udaipur, tried to tell the hotel staff that there is no such rule either on the app or on the hotel website. He also said to them that what they were doing goes against the Constitution, which guarantees equality. To which the hotel staff replied that they were following local police’s instructions. 

The woman, who was shocked by the incident said, “We are living in the 21st century and I don’t know why people still have this notion of dividing people on the basis of religion.” She said the hotel may have accepted a Sikh and a Hindu but had an issue because it was a Hindu and a Muslim.

Jaipur Police Commissioner Anand Shrivastava denied that the police have issued any such instructions in either written or verbal form. In a statement shared with The Indian Express, Oyo said, “We have initiated an inquiry into the manager’s actions which resulted in the inconvenience caused to the customer. We sincerely apologise for this unfortunate experience.”

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