Justice Oka told the Assam government's counsel, "You, the state, should have better things to do than running after these people."
Digital Desk: The Supreme Court on Friday slammed the Assam government for pursuing criminal charges against a man for allegedly transporting beef meat. The highest court stayed the criminal proceedings against the accused saying "the state should have better things to do". A Bench comprised of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan criticized the Assam government's counsel while temporarily postponing the matter till April 16.
Justice Oka told the Assam government's counsel, "You, the state, should have better things to do than running after these people."
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said that a person cannot be expected to know the nature of meat they have not packed.
The Assam Cattle Preservation Act passed in August 2021, prohibits the sale and purchase of beef and beef products in areas "predominantly inhabited by Hindu, Jain, Sikh and other non-beef eating communities" or within five kilometers of a sattra, a Vaishnavite monastery. It places tight restrictions on cattle transportation.
Accused Abhijit Saikia's advocate Manish Goswami earlier said that his client was just a warehouse owner, not the manufacturer, so he had no idea about the type of meat he was transporting.
The Supreme Court on Friday stated, "How will a person know only if there is beef or some other meat? If person is in possession how will he recognise it is meat of which animal? Naked eyes cannot differentiate between them."
However, the state government's counsel senior advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharma argued that the accused was involved in the packaging and selling of the meat.
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