The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued a notice to the state government of the beef ban, giving them a week to file their response.
The Jammu and Kashmir high court has issued notice to the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government on the beef ban and slaughter of bovine animals in the state. The court was hearing a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of the ban, and has asked the state to file its response within one week.
The division bench comprising of Justice MY Mir, and Justice BL Bhat, has made it clear, that in case the state legislature wants to repeal or amend the law, the petition shall not be of any hindrance to the same. The petition was filed by Sayed Afzal Qadri, a former professor of law.
"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.
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.
Earlier, independent legislator Engineer Rashid introduced a bill in the state assembly to scrap the 1932 law. Omar Abdullah led National Conference has also decided to move a bill to bring changes in the law.
The pre-independence law had rarely been followed, till last week, when a bench in the Jammu wing of the high court ordered the police to strictly enforce the ban while hearing a Public Interest Litigation. The order led to protests in the valley, with people defying it.
On Monday, the government transferred its additional advocate general Vishal Sharma, from the home department, for his alleged failure to defend them on beef ban case in the court.
Mr Sayeed remains tight lipped, as the opposition has demanded that the government should bring an ordinance to avoid any crisis on Bakar Eid later this month. Muslims across the world sacrifice animals on Eid as part of their religious obligation.