The Supreme Court on Thursday forbid the Uttar Pradesh government from taking any coercive action against Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Halal Trust president and former Rajya Sabha MP Mahmood Madani in connection with a case linked to a prohibition on the manufacture, sale, storage and distribution of halal-certified products.
Appearing for the Trust before a Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, advocate M.R. Shamshad said the State authorities have sought the personal presence of the president.
The lawyer said the Trust has been cooperating with the investigation, and it was not clear why they wanted the personal presence of its president. “It is an extrajudicial thing going on,” Mr. Shamshad submitted.
“We direct that no coercive steps be taken against the president or office members of the Trust,” the court said in its interim order.
The Bench issued notice on the plea by the Trust challenging the notification banning halal-certified products in the State and the consequent prosecution of suppliers on the ground that they were spreading communal disharmony.
Halal India Private Limited had said the FIR against it by the Uttar Pradesh Police claimed that “the sale of halal-certified products fosters social animosity”.
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The notification issued on November 18 by the Office of the Commissioner, Food Safety and Drug Administration, Uttar Pradesh, under the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 had prohibited with immediate effect the manufacture, storage, sale, and distribution of food products with halal certification within the State, except for items produced for export.
The notification had said halal certification mentioned on certain food products and other items like soap, oil, facial creams, toothpastes, etc., created a sense of confusion regarding their quality. It said such “parallel” mode of certification was inconsistent with the 2006 Act, and should be only by the competent authority under the law.
“However, there is no such certifying authority… It is therefore only apparent that the restriction imposed by the 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,” Halal India, represented by advocate Ejaz Maqbool, had argued.
The petitioners have maintained that the prohibition violated citizens’ fundamental right to religious expression and customs and undermined established certification processes.
