The Gauhati High Court has issued notice on a petition challenging the complete ban on selling beef in Assam’s Sonari municipal area and directed the State counsel to obtain instructions.
A single bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Mujib Rohman and another.
P. Deka, the counsel for the petitioners, who are aggrieved by a notice dated 30.06.2022 issued by the Executive Officer, Sonari Municipal Board by which the business of selling beef was completely prohibited from the municipal area from 15.07.2022 as per Section 8 of the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021.
The Counsel for the petitioners submitted that the business of the petitioners has been going on since the days of their forefathers in the said area and the Act in question also does not contemplate a complete ban and only prescribes a procedure for the said business. The competency of the Executive Officer in issuing the said notice dated 30.06.2022 has also been questioned by drawing the attention of the Court to the Act in question which prescribes that the Government should appoint an appropriate authority, which has not been done in the case.
It is further contended that without completing the formalities prescribed under the Act in question which would include allotment of an appropriate site to carry out the business, complete ban is not contemplated as that would amount to infringing the right to carry on business.
The Court has issued notice, returnable by 25.07.2022. Since, there is a prayer for interim order, the Court directed the State Counsel to obtain instructions on the next date which should include the steps/measures taken to allocate appropriate steps taken so that the petitioners can carry out their business as per the Act in question.
The Court has fixed the next hearing of the petition on July 25, 2022.