Why criminalise beef-eating, Delhi high court asks AAP govt over PIL

On a PIL against quashing the Delhi Cattle Preservation Act, the Delhi high court said the “right to eat the food of one’s choice is an integral part of the right to life and liberty”.

Saying that the Delhi Cattle Preservation Act that criminalises possession and consumption of beef in the city infringes the right to life and liberty of an individual, the Delhi high court on Wednesday sought a response from the government and the police to a PIL seeking to quash provisions of the act.

On a PIL against quashing the Delhi Cattle Preservation Act, the Delhi high court said the “right to eat the food of one’s choice is an integral part of the right to life and liberty”. (Reuters File Photo)

A division bench of chief justice G Rohini and justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to respond by December 8.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed on May 4 by an NGO working for development of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, saying the “right to eat the food of one’s choice is an integral part of the right to life and liberty”.

The Constitution mandates the state not to make a law towards enforcement of a particular religious practice, the plea said.

“The prohibition on possession and consumption of beef per se as under the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act is in violation of the fundamental rights of the petitioners and other persons similarly situated as it infringes their personal liberty,” it said.