Uttarakhand High Court Questions Ban On Slaughterhouses In Haridwar District

In March this year, the state had declared all areas of Haridwar "free from slaughterhouses" and cancelled the NOCs issued to slaughterhouses.

Questioning the constitutionality of a ban on slaughterhouses in Haridwar district, the Uttarakhand High Court has said a civilisation is judged by the way it treats its minorities. Hearing a petition filed by residents of Manglaur challenging the ban on slaughterhouses in Haridwar district on Friday, a division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice R S Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma said, "Democracy means the protection of minorities.  A civilisation is judged only by the way it treats its minorities and a ban like Haridwar's questions the extent to which the state can determine a citizen's options." The petition said the prohibition goes against the right to privacy, the right to life, and the right to freely practice religion and discriminated against Muslims in Haridwar where towns like Manglaur have a substantial Muslim population. "Denying hygienic and fresh non-vegetarian food to people of Haridwar district across the limitations of religion and caste amounts to hostile discrimination," the petition said.