'Why Cement, Iron Bars, Water Bottles Need To Be Halal-Certified?': UP Government Defends Ban In Supreme Court

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta expressed his shock to the Supreme Court on Monday (20 January) upon seeing items other than meat being certified as halal, confirming that these products adhere to the stipulations of Islamic law.

This was during the hearing of petitions challenging the prohibition enforced by the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh (UP) government on halal-certified items, Indian Express reported.

Appearing for the UP government, Mehta informed a bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih that while the certification of halal meat is unobjectionable, the certification of goods such as water bottles and cement is not.

"So far as Halal meat etc. is concerned, nobody can have any objection… even cement used is to be halal-certified. Sariyas (iron bars) used have to be halal-certified…Water bottles are required to be halal-certified…," the SG said.

He also expressed shock over vegetarian food items being halal-certifed and said, "Even atta (wheat flour), besan (chickpea flour) has to be halal-certified…how can besan be halal or non-halal?," claiming that such certifications are used to make money.

M R Shamshad, the Senior Advocate representing the petitioners, clarified that the definition of halal in the Central policy is not limited to non-vegetarian food, refuting Mehta's argument of making 'few lakh crore' rupees through certification.

Mehta further argued that the increase in prices is due to Halal certification, and posed a question to the court on why individuals who do not follow Halal should be obligated to purchase these more expensive items.

The petitioners, however, argued that the use of halal-certified products is a matter of personal preference. The Supreme Court issued a notice to the state in response to petitions filed by Halal India Pvt Limited and Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra on 5 January.

These petitions challenge the constitutional validity of a notification from the Food Safety and Drug Administration in UP, which prohibits the manufacturing, storage, sale, and distribution of food products bearing halal certification within the state.