Petition filed in Supreme Court demanding ban on halal certification and products

Forcing to use halal-certified products is a breach of the fundamental rights of non-Muslims, claims the petitioner !

New Delhi – A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by Vibhor Anand demanding the imposition of a ban on halal-certified products and on issuing the halal certification.

Ban halal certified products across India, says petition in Supreme Court https://t.co/1TVfwXiveY

— Hindustan Times (@HindustanTimes) April 22, 2022

It has been stated in the petition,

For 15% of the population in the country, the rest of the 85% of the population is forced to use halal-certified products against their wish. It is a breach of the fundamental rights of the non-Muslim population. The faiths of one religion cannot be thrust upon followers of other religions in a secular country; still, they are forced to buy halal-certified products.

Isn’t issuing halal certification under the Shariat Act a breach of fundamental freedom conferred on citizens under Articles 14 to 21 of the Constitution ?

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and a few other private Islamic organisations are issuing the halal certification. Does it mean that certifying products by the Government’s ISI (The Indian Standards Institute) and FSSAI (The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) is not enough ? Isn’t it discrimination against other communities ?

Before 1974, there was nothing like halal certification. From the year 1974, halal certification was started for meat products. From 1974 to 1993, halal certification was limited only to meat products, but later, other products such as food items, sweets, grains, cosmetics like nail polish, lipstick, etc were included under this certification.

The Islamic organisations issuing halal certification are collecting money from manufacturers of all these products and spending that money as they want. All these organisations are private.