Tushar Mehta asked why should non-believers be made to pay higher cost for halal-certified products.
NEW DELHI: Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta on Monday raised in the Supreme Court the issue of halal certification of non-meat products such as iron bars and cement, asking why should non-believers be made to pay higher cost for halal-certified products. The law officer made the submissions before the apex court which was hearing the pleas challenging a notification prohibiting the manufacturing, storage, sale and distribution of food products with halal certification within UP, except for items produced for export.
“So far as halal meat is concerned, nobody can have any objection. But your lordships would be shocked, as I was shocked, that even cement and iron bars used are to be halal certified,” Mehta submitted before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih. He said the halal-certifying agencies were charging and the total amount collected in the process might be a few lakh crore. “Even ‘atta’ (wheat flour) and ‘besan’ (gram flour) has to be halal-certified. How can ‘besan’ be halal or non-halal?” asked Mehta. The counsel appearing for the petitioners said the Centre’s policy says it was a matter of lifestyle. “All this is voluntary. Nobody is forcing anyone,” the petitioners counsel said.
The top law officer referred to non-believers, who did not consume halal-certified products, and asked why they should be made to pay a higher price only because some people wanted halal-certified products. The petitioners’ counsel said it was a matter of choice. The bench was informed that the Centre had filed an affidavit in the matter. The top court granted four weeks to the petitioners to file a rejoinder and said the matter would be heard in the week commencing March 24.
