On 12th February, Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force (STF), investigating a matter linked to halal certification, arrested four members of the Mumbai-based Halal Council of India for issuing fake certificates.
Notably, an FIR was registered in November 2023 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, against three firms, including the Halal Council of India, for issuing illegal Halal certificates for the products sold in the state. A few days after the FIR, the matter was transferred for investigation to STF from Lucknow Police.
UP STF ने अवैध रूप से हलाल प्रमाण पत्र जारी कर विभिन्न कम्पनियों से अवैध वसूली करने वाली संस्था हलाल काउंसिल ऑफ़ इंडिया के 4 सदस्य को किया गिरफ़्तार, जाँच मे पता चला है की काउंसिल प्रति certificate 10 हज़ार रूपए वसूलती थी और उसे ये करने का क़ोई अधिकार भी नहीं था pic.twitter.com/wqVc1cBjBc
— Raajeev Chopra (@Raajeev_Chopra) February 12, 2024
The four members of the Halal Council of India have been identified as its president, Maulana Habib Yusuf Patel, vice-president Maulana Moidsheer Sapadia, general secretary Mohammad Tahir Zakir Hussain Chauhan, and treasurer Mohammad Anwar. The investigating team recovered documents, including Aadhar cards, debit cards, PAN cards, phones, and cash from their possession. They were arrested after questioning at their office in Lucknow.
The police said in a statement that the accused said during questioning that they had provided “halal certificates” to several companies in the state. The firm has been accused of issuing illegal halal certificates for meat and non-meat products. Notably, the police said the Halal Council of India is not authorised by the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies or any other government agency. The police said, “The arrested individuals confessed to their actions during interrogation. No lab testing was conducted for issuing certificates. Certificates were issued for restaurants despite no control over their food preparation processes. Financial records regarding income and expenditure were unclear.”
The firm was charging an annual fee of Rs 10,000 for certification and Rs 1,000 per product from its “clients”. Interestingly, the certification was issued without any testing or verification of production process.
Halal ban in Uttar Pradesh
In November 2023, Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government imposed an immediate ban on halal-certified food products in the state, criminalising production, storage, distribution and sale of all halal-certified food products except those meant for export. Following the ban, an FIR was registered against several firms named Halal India Pvt Ltd (Chennai), Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust (Delhi), Jamiat Ulema (Mumbai) and Halal Council of India (Mumbai), among others.
The FIR under Sections 120-B, 153-A, 298, 384, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered based on a complaint of a person from Lucknow in which the complainant said some firms were issuing fake halal certificates. The complaint read, “These companies are preparing these certificates targeting a specific community, and the criminal act of reducing sales of products without these certificates is being done…”
The complainant pointed out that issuing such certificates for non-meat products has an adversarial impact on the business prospects of other religious communities. Notably, products including oils, soaps, toothpaste, honey, flour and more were getting “halal certified”.
SC protects halal certification firms from coercive action
On 12th February, the Supreme Court of India ordered that no coercive action could be taken against halal certification firms, including Halal India Limited and Jamiat Ulama, over FIR against them. Jamiat Ulama e-Hind trust already got protection from the apex court on 25th January. They had filed an appeal in Sessions court Lucknow for protection but failed to secure it. Notably, former Rajya Sabha member Mahmood Madani is the president of Jamiat Ulama e-Hind.
In its order, the bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta said, “We will pass the same order as we issued in the other petition. No coercive steps shall be taken against the petitioner and the office bearers in connection with a criminal case lodged by Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on November 17, 2023.”
Muslim organisations claimed that the ban on halal products in UP would have an effect across the country. They told the court, “The widespread impact of the notification and the ban on manufacture, sale, storage, and distribution of halal-certified products has instilled fear in the populace all across India. The notification and FIR have had nationwide repercussions that have particularly affected the Islamic community and have created apprehension that the practice initiated by UP may be replicated by other states, intensifying the pervasive fear.”
