A bench headed by Justice AK Sikri gave four weeks' time for the state to respond and posted the matter for hearing after six weeks.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Maharashtra government on a batch of petitions challenging Fadnavis government's decision to enforce a total ban on beef and its export in the state.
A bench headed by Justice AK Sikri gave four weeks' time for the state to respond and posted the matter for hearing after six weeks.
Petitioner's counsel senior advocate Indira Jaising submitted that the ban violates a person's right to choose the food of his choice and sought to scrap the ban. She further said this was supported by the Qureshi community, who claim that the ban has had disastrous consequences on their livelihood.
They had requested the court to refer the Qureshi judgment to a 7-judge bench. However, this plea was not entertained.
Animal rights activists have claimed that the Qureshi judgment, in which Sections 5(d) and 9(b) of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act were struck down, has been ineffective in curbing animal slaughter.
They argued that the Qureshi judgment had the effect of allowing beef to be brought in from outside the state, and therefore sought an overruling of the Bombay High Court's decision.
The high court in May had struck down two sections of the state Act which criminalised possession of beef. Striking down Sections 5(d) and 9(b) of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act which criminalised and imposed punishment for possession of beef of animals slaughtered in the state or outside.
Around 36 beef dealers associations across Maharashtra had in August filed a petition in the top court challenging the beef ban. The dealers want the court to permit the slaughter of cattle 'bulls and bullocks, not cows' of more than 16 years of age. They said that after the age of 16, cattle are too old to be used for farming and other activities.
The petition has challenged the constitutional validity of the Act, 2015 that bans the slaughter, possession, consumption and import of beef in the state.
In March last year, the BJP-led state government had banned the slaughtering of bulls, bullocks and cows by amending the 1976 Act.
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