News Brief
Supreme Court Seeks UP Government's Response On Plea Challenging Ban On Halal-Certified Products In State
Kuldeep Negi
Jan 05, 2024, 02:44 PM | Updated 02:43 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
The Supreme Court on Friday (5 January) issued a notice on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh government's ban on the manufacturing, storage, sale, and distribution of Halal certified food products within the state, excluding items produced for export.
The petitioners have labeled this as “an attack on the followers of Islam religion…”.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta served a notice to the UP government on a plea by Halal India Private Limited, a self-described "internationally recognised halal certification provider," and its director, Mujakirullah.
Initially, the bench suggested that the High Court could also also examine the matter.
However, the petitioners contended that the notification released by the Office of the Commissioner, Food Safety and Drug Administration, UP, on 18 November 2023, carries implications that affect the whole of India.
The plea, filed through Advocate Ejaz Maqbool, said, “It is submitted that the widespread impact of the Impugned Notification and the ban on the manufacture, sale, storage, and distribution of halal-certified products has instilled fear in the populace all across India," Indian Express reported.
“Pertinently, impugned notification and FIR have had nationwide repercussions that have particularly affected a certain religious minority i.e., the Islamic community and have created apprehension that the practice initiated by the Respondent State may be replicated by other states, intensifying the pervasive fear. This apprehension is substantiated by instances wherein leaders of other States in the country have advocated for a similar ban,” it further added.
The Supreme Court declined the petitioner's request to direct that no coercive action be taken in pursuance of the notification and said it would look into the request later.
The plea also requested the quashing of the first information report (FIR) filed on 11 November 2023 at the Hazratganj police station in UP “against the petitioners and other entities under Sections 120-B, 153-A, 298, 384, 420, 467,468,471 and 505 of the IPC”.
The FIR, according to the plea, alleged “without any iota of truth or any evidence whatsoever, that they were issuing forged halal certificates for financial gains which violates public trust, without any substantive evidence in support of the same” and that “the sale of halal certified products, fosters social animosity”.
The petition contented that “all the allegations made in the impugned FIR…are false and baseless and are based only on hearsay and the FIR has primarily been lodged only to target a particular community”.
The petitioners also said that “the impugned notification further states that the halal certification which was mentioned on certain food products and on products like such as soap, oil, facial creams, toothpastes etc., created confusion regarding the quality of food items and deemed it to be inconsistent with the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006….”.
It added that “the impugned notification further states that such certifications can be granted only by the competent authority under Section 29 of the Act, and that no parallel system is permissible to operate for grant of certifications. However, interestingly, there exists no such certifying authority that is approved by the respondents".
"In view of the aforesaid, it is therefore only apparent that the restriction imposed by the impugned notification is only an attack on the followers of Islam religion which provides certain criterions of products that is permitted to be used by its followers," it said.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Kuldeep is Senior Editor (Newsroom) at Swarajya. He tweets at @kaydnegi.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.