J&K high court disposes off beef ban petition

Srinagar: A three-judge bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday vacated the Jammu division bench order on beef ban and also disposed off the petition seeking abrogation of the 1864 law regarding the ban in the state.

The three-judge bench comprising Justices Muzaffar Hussain Attar, Ali Muhammad Magrey and Tashi Rabstan on Friday vacated the beef ban order passed by the division bench of the high court in Jammu and also disposed off the public interest litigation (PIL) filed before the Srinagar bench seeking abrogation of section 298A and section 298B of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) with directions to the state chief secretary to take appropriate action on issues raised in the petition.

The Supreme Court had directed the Jammu and Kashmir chief justice to constitute a three-judge bench to resolve the contradictions emanating from the orders passed by the two benches of the state high court.

While the Jammu division bench had passed orders to the state police chief to ensure strict compliance of the existing laws on beef ban in the state, the Srinagar bench had issued notices to the state government on the PIL seeking abrogation of the 1864 beef ban law in the state.