SC dismisses plea for beef ban case to be heard in Jammu

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking that the hearing on a plea challenging the validity of the penal provision that bans slaughtering of cattle and sale of beef in Jammu and Kashmir be heard by a three-judge bench of the high court in Jammu.

An apex court bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra dismissed the plea as withdrawn. The plea contended that the law and order situation may be threatened if the hearing was held in Srinagar.

Chief Justice Dattu said he had spoken to Justice N. Paul Vasanta Kumar, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice, on Tuesday night and he had said there would be no law and order problem if the hearing took place in Srinagar.

The petitioner, Parimoksh Seth, had sought the hearing be either held at Jammu or outside the state.

In view of the conflicting orders on the beef ban passed by the Jammu and Srinagar benches of the high court, the Supreme Court had on October 5 asked its chief justice to constitute a three-judge bench to decide the issue.

This was to examine the validity of penal provisions that bans slaughtering of cattle and sale of beef in the state.

The court had kept in abeyance for two months the order of the Jammu bench of the high court asking police to strictly enforce the provision of the Ranbir Penal Code that prohibits voluntary slaughtering and sale of bovine animals.

The Jammu bench had on September 8 asked the police chief to enforce the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).

The Srinagar bench on September 16 issued notice to the state government on a plea challenging the RPC provision.