HC dismisses plea filed by ex-minister

The Allahabad High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by former Uttar Pradesh minister and meat businessman, Haji Yaqub Qurashi and another, seeking stay of arrest and quashing the FIR lodged against them in Meerut.

It was alleged that a unit owned by them was indulging in processing of meat previously stored, without there being any valid licence, and also bringing in fresh meat on the premises after the expiry of the licence.

Dismissing the petition filed by Qurashi and another, a division bench comprising justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and justice Rajnish Kumar observed, “The allegations prima facie give an indication that the unit was indulging in unlawful act of processing meat etc, without an authority of law”.

Regarding the plea of the petitioner’s counsel that they have no direct role in running of the industry, the court observed, “So far as implication of petitioners in the matter is concerned, in the event, they have no specific role, they can always avail of appropriate remedy under the code of criminal procedure (CrPC).

Holding that “no interference in the FIR is called for”, the court in its decision dated May 4 further said, “Allegations otherwise are that the storage of meat was generating a lot of foul smell and was a safety hazard for the residents of the nearby area. Once that be so, we would not be justified in examining facts so as to determine whether such allegations are correct or not”.

During a raid made by the state authorities on the premises in question on March 31, 2022, a huge quantity of fresh open meat along with bones was found along with huge processed meat with other materials which was causing huge inconvenience to the public at large. The meat items were not kept safely and were omitting a unbearably foul odour, and were a public hazard. Subsequently, an FIR was lodged in this connection under various sections of Indian penal code (IPC) at the police station – Kharkhoda of Meerut district.