SC slams Assam government: '...should have better things to do' than chasing beef cases

The Supreme Court on February 21 criticised the Assam government for pursuing a case against a man accused of transporting beef, stating authorities "should have better things to do than running after these people."

A bench of Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan stayed the criminal proceedings against the accused and scheduled the next hearing for April 16.

The court expressed scepticism about how an ordinary person could identify different types of meat. "How will a person know only if there is beef or some other meat? If person is in possession how will he recognise it is meat of which animal? Naked eyes cannot differentiate between them," the bench observed.

When state counsel informed the court that meat samples had been sent to a forensic laboratory after the transportation was intercepted, the bench questioned the basis for prosecution.

The accused's lawyer argued that his client was merely a warehouse owner who had transported packaged raw meat without knowledge of its specific type.

The court noted that Section 8 of the Assam Cattle Preservation Act could only be invoked if the accused had knowledge that the meat being sold was beef.

Despite the state counsel's contention that the accused was involved in packaging and selling the meat, the bench determined the matter required further hearing before making a final decision. (With inputs from PTI)