Do cement and flour also need Halal certification? UP government raised questions in Supreme Court

New Delhi : The legal battle over banning the manufacturing, sale and distribution of food products with Halal certification has intensified. The matter of Halal certification was heard in the Supreme Court. On Monday, the UP government told the court that some lakh crore rupees are being collected by giving certification for various products including cement, iron rods, bottles. The government said that due to this the prices of goods are increasing. At the same time, the government questioned in the court whether cement and flour also need Halal certification.

Why on water bottles, cement?

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, told the Supreme Court on Monday that he/she was “shocked” to see products other than meat certified as halal. Through this, it is being certified that these products meet the requirements of Islamic law.

Tushar Mehta was responding to petitions challenging the ban imposed by the UP government on halal-certification within the state. Mehta told a bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih that certification of halal meat was not objectionable, but the same should not be done on products like water bottles and cement.

How is gram flour halal or non halal?

he/she said that as far as Halal meat etc. is concerned, no one can have any objection. he/she said that even atta (wheat flour), gram flour (gram flour) should be certified halal… How can gram flour be halal or non-halal? The agencies have earned ‘a few lakh crores’ with such certification, the Solicitor General said.

UP government had imposed a ban

Senior advocate MR Shamshad, appearing for various petitioners including Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Halal Trust, opposed his/her plea. Shamshad told the bench that the concept of Halal has been well explained in the policy of the Central Government and it is a matter of lifestyle.

he/she said everything is voluntary and no one is forced to buy halal-certified products. The Food Safety and Drugs Administration of the UP government had banned the ‘manufacture, sale, storage and distribution of halal-certified products with immediate effect’ in November 2023.