The Supreme Court today suspended for two months the operation of Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s directive to the police to enforce the ban on the sale of beef in the state.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy passed the order on a petition by the state government pleading for removal of the confusion arising from two conflicting HC orders — one passed by a Jammu Bench and another by a Srinagar Bench, both comprising two judges each — on two petitions.
The apex court asked the HC Chief Justice to set up a three-member Bench at Srinagar to hear both the petitions and pass appropriate orders so that there was no confusion. The SC, however, clarified that it had nothing to do with any Assembly proceedings on the issue of beef sale.
The Bench said it was asking the HC CJ to deal with the matter as the HC Benches had passed conflicting orders. The HC order for enforcement of the ban would be in abeyance for two months, it said.
The HC order had evoked strong protests, forcing the authorities to shut internet services in the state for three days on the occasion of Eid as a precautionary measure. The state government had come to the SC following the HC orders —one for enforcement of the ban and another on a plea for quashing the law that bans the beef sale.
The HC’s Bench at Jammu had asked the state police chief on September 8 to ensure that there was no sale of beef anywhere in the state. It was hearing a writ petition by Parimoksh Seth, pleading for the enforcement of the ban provided under the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).
A week later, a Bench at Srinagar issued notice to the government on September 16 on a plea by another writ petitioner SM Iqbal Qadri for quashing the RPC provision that prohibits slaughter and sale of bovine animals. The HC also clarified that the state government or the Assembly was free to scrap the provision, irrespective of the pending case.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy passed the order on a petition by the state government pleading for removal of the confusion arising from two conflicting HC orders — one passed by a Jammu Bench and another by a Srinagar Bench, both comprising two judges each — on two petitions.
The apex court asked the HC Chief Justice to set up a three-member Bench at Srinagar to hear both the petitions and pass appropriate orders so that there was no confusion. The SC, however, clarified that it had nothing to do with any Assembly proceedings on the issue of beef sale.
The Bench said it was asking the HC CJ to deal with the matter as the HC Benches had passed conflicting orders. The HC order for enforcement of the ban would be in abeyance for two months, it said.
The HC order had evoked strong protests, forcing the authorities to shut internet services in the state for three days on the occasion of Eid as a precautionary measure. The state government had come to the SC following the HC orders —one for enforcement of the ban and another on a plea for quashing the law that bans the beef sale.
The HC’s Bench at Jammu had asked the state police chief on September 8 to ensure that there was no sale of beef anywhere in the state. It was hearing a writ petition by Parimoksh Seth, pleading for the enforcement of the ban provided under the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).
A week later, a Bench at Srinagar issued notice to the government on September 16 on a plea by another writ petitioner SM Iqbal Qadri for quashing the RPC provision that prohibits slaughter and sale of bovine animals. The HC also clarified that the state government or the Assembly was free to scrap the provision, irrespective of the pending case.
