Possession of skin of dead cows not an offence: Bombay High Court
Mumbai, Dec 22: Possession of a dead animal's skin will not amount to an offence under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has observed while quashing a FIR against a man for possession of skins of dead cows.
The Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act (MAPA), 1976 prohibits slaughter, purchase, sale, import, export and possession of beef.
A division bench of Justices V M Deshpande and A S Kilor passed the order on December 14 while hearing a petition filed by Shafiqullaha Khan Ashfaqullha Khan seeking to quash a July 2018 case registered against him under provisions of the MAPA for alleged possession of 187 skins of cows in a van he was driving.
The FIR against Khan was registered with the Shivaji Nagar police station in Buldhana district.
Khan was booked under sections 5A (prohibition on transportation of cow, bull or bullock within the state for purpose of slaughter), 5B (prohibition on transportation of these animals outside the state for purpose of slaughter) and 5C (prohibition on possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock).
The bench in its order noted that the provisions of the Act prohibit purchase and sale of cows, bulls or bullock for slaughter and possession of flesh of any cow, bull or bullock.
"There are no allegations that the applicant was transporting or exporting cow, bull or bullock for the purpose of slaughter. There are also no allegations that the applicant purchased or sold or otherwise disposed of or offered to purchase or sell or dispose of cow, bull or bullock for slaughter," the court said.
It added that thus no offence constitutes against Khan.
"There is no doubt that the skin is not covered under the provisions of the Act of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976. Thus, there is no prohibition for the possession of skin of dead animals," the court said, quashing the FIR.
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India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
