Gauhati HC Revokes Dog Meat Ban Order by Nagaland Government

KOHIMA: Nearly years after the state of Nagaland banned the consumption of dog meat, the Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench has delivered a judgment invalidating the state's notification.

According to the official order, “decree dated 04.07.2020 issued by the state respondents prohibiting the commercial import, dealing, and markets for dogs as well as the commercial selling of dog meat in markets and restaurants must be set aside and quashed.”

However, the ruling, which was delivered on June 2 by a panel presided over by Justice Marli Vankun, stated that the chief secretary of Nagaland was not the proper person to issue the ban order dated July 4, 2020.

The traders who were granted permits by the Kohima Municipal Council to import dogs and sell dog meat submitted the petition, which contested the ban's legitimacy and jurisdiction.

Dog markets, the commercial import and trafficking of dogs, and the sale of cooked and uncooked dog meat had all been outlawed by the state cabinet.

Moreover, after the state government respondents to a petition against the prohibition refused to respond, citing provisions of the Food Safety & Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, a single bench of the high court temporarily suspended the ban in November 2020.

Earlier,the ruling caused a stir in the state, particularly in light of the arguments that the prohibition ignores Article 371(A) of the Constitution, which grants Naga tribes the freedom to keep and practise their customary law and social customs.

According to reports, Maneka Gandhi, a Lok Sabha MP and animal rights advocate, had expressed alarm over the ongoing killing and eating of dogs in Nagaland. This led to the imposition of the ban. To stop "dog bazaars and dog restaurants" in the state, she had requested that locals email the state chief secretary.

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