Apex court notice on state plea on possession of beef

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on an appeal filed by the Maharashtra government against the Bombay High Court (HC) order striking down as illegal, the ban on possession of beef by citizens in the state. A bench headed by Justice R.K. Agrawal, issued notice on the appeal of the state and directed it to be tagged and heard along with a batch of appeals against the same judgment upholding the ban on cow slaughter in the state under the amended Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2015.

Cow slaughter and sale of cow meat in Maharashtra has been banned and made illegal since 1976, but as per the new law, the ban was extended to calves, bulls and bullocks. Section 5D of this Act allows a police officer to stop and search a person suspected of carrying cow, buffalo or bullock meat and also enter homes to carry out searches. Those accused of possessing beef could take recourse to Section 9B of this law.

The Bombay HC upheld the beef ban imposed by the state after this law but struck down two provisions holding that possession of the meat cannot by itself be considered as a crime.

In its appeal, the state assailed the HC order contending that it quashed the sections erroneously by holding privacy as a fundamental right. Referring to the ongoing debate in the SC over Aadhaar and the right to privacy, the state said privacy was not a fundamental right at the time of the judgment. The HC failed to appreciate the law in its correct perspective.