“The government has to file its reply within one week, whether they support the ban or accept that ban is against fundamental rights of people”, said Advocate Faisal Qadri, lawyer of the petitioner.
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Advocate Syed Faisal, the counsel for the petitioner told CNS that the importance of the Court directions lies in the fact that it threw the ball in the court of State Legislators.
“The government shall be free to amend or repeal the impugned legislation and the pendency of the petition in the court will not come in its way”, it further observed.
Prof. Afzal Qadri, who has retired as professor of law from the University of Kashmir had filed a petition seeking the annulment of Dogra law that forbids people from slaughtering bovine animals.
The ban on the sale of beef in Jammu and Kashmir ordered by the state’s High court which hogged the news headlines since last one week got a dramatic twist on Wednesday when the same state High Court issued a notice to Jammu and Kashmir Government over a petition challenging Cow Slaughter Act.
The Bench while considering the contentions made in the petition ordered that there shall be no sale of beef in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It evoked sharp response and protests in Kashmir.
On the other hand, court records revealed that since the PIL was filed, state divisional commissioners were asked to submit a report on steps taken to prevent slaughter of bovine animals and sale of beef in areas under their jurisdiction.
The petition has challenged the provisions of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), the criminal code applicable in the state, which makes the slaughter of bovine animals, and sale and purchase of beef, a punishable offence in the state and can be jailed upto 10 years under certain sections.
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The petitioner said the said provisions have no nexus with the Article 48 of the Constitution and therefore can not be a basis to criminalise an act of a citizen which otherwise is provided to him by the divine law of nature in the nature of his religious practices and rituals. Some members of the ruling PDP have also describe the law as archaic and are calling for its amendments.
