 "Slaughter")
The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has given 10 days to Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh to draw up a plan so that its crackdown on illegitimate slaughterhouses does not divest people of their choice of food or livelihood. The bench has reminded the Uttar Pradesh government that in course of its restriction it must not encumber the basic rights of citizens.
According to Allahabad HC, food and food related habits are undisputedly associated with the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Court observed that food habits in UP have prospered and are an indispensable part of life as an element of the secular culture. The court also said that inaction of the state government in the past should not be a shield for imposing a state of almost prohibition.
What was the crackdown?
Yogi Adityanath soon after taking charge of the state in March ordered the state government to carry a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses. The government claimed that the restriction would only be on illegal slaughterhouses. They said that their intention is neither to ban consumption of meat nor to close all slaughterhouses. Their objective is to only regulate operation of slaughterhouses.
Meat traders went on strike against this and rivals said the BJP government’s decision was a move aimed at forcing people not to eat meat. Though the strike was called off on Sunday after a meeting between Adityanath and the meat sellers’ association.
What is the court exactly saying?
Justices Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Sanjay Harkauli said: “Health, culture, personal food habits, socio-economic status of society, availability of foodstuff at affordable prices, the convenience of availability, contents, quality and strength of foodstuff essential to life, and a balance of such competing rights under the secular umbrella of the Constitution are all issues that need deliberation before any overt or covert action is taken. It should not appear to be abrupt for those who are at the receiving end and should not be legally unconstitutional.”
The judges further said, “To provide an immediate check on unlawful activity should be simultaneous with facilitating the carrying of lawful activity, particularly that relating to food, food habits and vending thereof that is undisputedly connected with the right to life and livelihood. Food that is conducive to health cannot be treated as a wrong choice.”
Excerpt of the order
According to a report of Deccan Chronicle, Uttar Pradesh’s meat industry is worth Rs 15,000 crore and employs 15 lakh people which means these people are dependent so much on meat industry. The court, while responding to a petition filed by a meat seller, reminded the government that it cannot just crack down on illegal slaughterhouses while neglecting the job of providing and licensing a legal supply of meat.
The bench focused on fundamental rights of citizens mentioned in the constitution, including Article 19 (the freedom to practice any profession) and Article 21 (the protection of life and liberty, including the freedom to eat any healthy foodstuff) that does not give anyone the right to deter the food choices.
