Allahabad HC Grants Bail To 4 Persons Accused Of Issuing Fraudulent Halal Certificates, Hurting Religious Sentiments

Those granted bail are Habib Yusuf Patel (president of the council), Muidshir Sapadia (vice president), Mohammed Tahir Zakir Hussain Chauhan (general secretary), and Mohammad Anwar (treasurer). All 4 are facing an FIR under Sections 120-B, 153-A, 298, 384, 420, 467, 468, 471, 504 IPC.

A bench of Justice Pankaj Bhatia granted them relief on the undertaking of their trust that if enlarged on bail, it would not issue any certificate of the nature issued so far until a proper authorisation, either by the Central or by the State Government, is granted to them under law.

The allegations against the accused are that they were issuing 'Halal certificates' regarding not only edible products but also toiletries, honey, vegetarian products, etc., intending to affect the market equilibrium adversely and for earning unauthorized economic gains.

It was also alleged that their trust was trying to influence the market condition of one particular community, not following the standards, and attempting to affect the market equilibrium by issuing such certificates fraudulently, which adversely affected sales.

It was also contended that the said acts were acting in furtherance of creating enmity between two communities and the economic gains were being diverted to various terrorism-related activities.

It may be noted that in November 2023, Uttar Pradesh implemented a comprehensive prohibition on the manufacturing, storage, distribution, and commerce of Halal-certified food items within the state.

Consequently, the investigation began in Lucknow against four companies, including the Halal Council of India, for suspected misconduct in product certification.

Seeking bail in the case, the counsels appearing for the accused petitioners contended that applicants had responded to a notice under Section 91 of the CrPC on December 6, 2023, providing all requested information regarding the Halal certificates to the authorities. Despite this, they were arrested on February 13, 2024.

Additionally, it was submitted that the authority to issue Halal certificates and related notifications by the State of Uttar Pradesh was under challenge in the Supreme Court by four other petitioners, who were granted interim protection from coercive action, including challenges to the FIRs filed.

It is further argued that the Director General of Foreign Trade had issued circulars under the Foreign Trade Development and Regulation Act empowering certain bodies to issue Halal certificates upon accreditation. These bodies were required to adhere to prescribed norms. It was contended that the applicants were arrested before the accreditation deadline passed.

Further, it was contended that no such certificate/accreditation has been obtained for the trust of the applicants, who are the office bearers.

On the other hand, the Additional Advocate General and the AGA opposed the bail prayer by arguing that a private trust had attempted to usurp sovereign functions which is under the domain of sovereign authorities either under the Food Safety Act or the other regulatory mechanism.

They contended that the trust sought to disrupt the financial balance by claiming authority to issue certificates, benefiting certificate recipients while disadvantaging those without certificates.

Against this backdrop, considering the submissions made at the Bar, prima facie, without going into the merits of the arguments concerning the allegation levelled against the applicants and because the co-accused have been granted interim protection against arrest against whom similar allegations were levelled coupled with the fact that the applicants and the trust run by them have given an undertaking not to issue certificates, the Court deemed it fit to enlarge the petitioners on bail. Accordingly, the bail application is allowed.

Appearances

Counsel for Applicant: Vikas Vikram Singh, Naved Ali, Sumedha Sen, Syed Mehfuzur Rehman

Counsel for Opposite Party: G.A., Dr. Shailendra Sharma, Shitesh Jha

Case title - Muhammed Tahir Zakir Chauhan vs. State Of U.P. Trhu. Its Prin. Secy. Govt. Of U.P. Lko. 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 311

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 311

Click Here Toread/download order