Slaughter Houses: Allahabad HC Asks Yogi Govt. To Implement Law As A Model Social Welfare State Under Our Secular Constitution [Read Judgment]

“It is expected that the State Government and all it's authorities shall make an endeavour to study the social, the economic and the legal impact and the practicality of implementation with a view to implement the laws as a Model Social Welfare State under our Secular Constitution with the objective of ameliorating the conditions in this field of trade and business, hygiene, sanitation and healthy food for it's citizens on the anvil that it has the duty to do so”, said the bench. Allahabad High Court on Friday directed the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government to issue new licenses and renew old ones for slaughterhouses and meat shops.“It shall be open to all the petitioners and such other persons to apply for registration or licenses as the case may be before the respective authorities under the 2006 Act and the 2011 Regulations and it shall be obligatory on the part of such authorities to assess and pass orders informing the applicants about the same. The Local Bodies shall be obliged to consider and grant No Objection Certificates as and where required under the 2011 Regulations”, directed the Bench.A division bench of Justices Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Sanjai Harkauli was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the State action in respect of shutting down of abattoirs and slaughter houses throughout the State, which in the opinion of the State Government were running unlawfully without complying with the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 read with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Rules, Regulations.At the outset the Court observed that it is the issue of implementation of codified law through the respective authorities and it's practical implementation that has brought to the fore the filing of these writ petitions giving a cause of apprehension in the minds of the petitioners that they will be rendered unemployed and would be losing their livelihood.“This also gives rise to a consequential apprehension that it would affect an individual to consume food of his own choice resulting in breach of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Thus it is the implementation part and the obligations, duties and responsibilities to be discharged by the State and local bodies and any alleged failure on their part that has given rise to these petitions. The claim of rights and the corresponding obligations therefore being a matter of assessment under the relevant laws and then it's effective implementation appears to be the core issue on which the action or cause on behalf of the petitioners would fail or succeed”. Slams Government The Bench observed that the situation could have been more comfortably dealt with if the State itself would have undertaken an extensive exercise in assessing all such issues that have now been raised before the Court before taking any precipitate action by issuing Government Orders.“For this we had on the previous occasions noted the submissions in our orders on behalf of the State that the matter is being looked into and studied by a High-Powered Committee for taking appropriate steps and declaring the policy of the Government under the law for the time being in force but in spite of this information having been given to the Court, the only affidavit which has been filed on behalf of the state in two of the writ petitions referred to above in the shape of supplementary counter affidavits is that the said Committee is making all endeavours to do the needful. Nothing has been brought before us after passing of such orders before this Court what deliberations have been made and what action has been taken by the State Government to study the entire issue in the constitutional, the legal and the practical aspects of implementation of the 2006 Act, the Rules and the Regulations framed there under as well as the other provisions in this regard. We may put on record that had this effort been made by the State Government more appropriately before taking any precipitate action the same could have been appreciated by this Court and could have been an aid in resolving the issue more effectively”. Right To Livelihood & Right To Choice of FoodThe Bench also held that all the citizens have the right to an adequate means of livelihood to subserve common good which in the instant case would also include the choice of food of it's citizens and all other such obligations that can be gathered from the constitutional provisions.These obligations may have to be discharged by the respective Bodies as per the distribution of work and powers available under different Schemes but the State Government cannot withdraw it's hands completely so as to result in the forestalling the on-going schemes already undertaken by the predecessor Government.“There is yet another aspect of the matter which deserves attention, namely that the 2006 Act and the Regulations as well as Rules framed...

Slaughter Houses: Allahabad HC Asks Yogi Govt. To Implement Law As A Model Social Welfare State Under Our Secular Constitution [Read Judgment]

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