In a shocking move, the Maharashtra government has moved the Supreme Court, seeking to revive a section of a law that makes keeping beef at home an offence, said TOI reports. The court is scheduled to hear the case later on Friday. Over a year ago, the Bombay high court had doused protests against the beef ban by striking down Section 5D of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, which received presidential assent on March 4, 2015.
Section 5D of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, lets a police officer stop and search a person suspected of carrying cow, buffalo or bullock meat and also enter homes to carry out searches. Those accused of possessing beef could prove their innocence under Section 9B of the legislation.
In its appeal filed before the SC, the Maharashtra government said the HC erroneously held privacy to be a fundamental right and struck down Section 5D permitting the police to enter homes, stop and search a person on suspicion of possessing beef. The SC will hear the appeal on Friday.
“The High Court failed to appreciate the law in its correct perspective, besides failing to observe judicial discipline,” the state said in its appeal.
