Lucknow: The Special Task Force (STF) conducted an interrogation on Wednesday with Mahmood Madani, the chief of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Halal Trust, as part of an ongoing criminal case registered in Uttar Pradesh in 2023 regarding the ban on halal-certified products. Madani requested additional time to provide a reply in relation to the matter.

On February 13, Lucknow Police apprehended four officials of the Halal Council of India, Mumbai, for allegedly issuing fake Halal certificates to companies without proper sampling or testing. Additionally, on January 25, the Supreme Court granted protection from any coercive action against Mahmood Madani and other office-bearers concerning the criminal case linked to the ban on halal-certified products.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta directed Uttar Pradesh police to refrain from taking any coercive measures against Madani and others. The bench also issued a notice on their plea challenging the Uttar Pradesh government's prohibition on the manufacture, sale, storage, and distribution of halal-certified products.

Earlier in January, the apex court had served notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on two petitions filed by Halal India Private Limited and Jamiat Ulam e-Hind Halal Trust Maharashtra, seeking to invalidate a notification that banned the manufacture, sale, storage, and distribution of halal-certified products in the state.

Counsel representing Jamiat argued that despite the organization's cooperation in the investigation and submission of all requested documents, the state government had summoned the trust president to appear in person without specifying the required information.

The petitions filed earlier sought directions to quash a November 18 notification by Uttar Pradesh's Food Safety and Drug Administration and FIRs subsequently lodged against them. These petitions contested a ban imposed by the Uttar Pradesh government on the "manufacture, sale, storage, and distribution of halal-certified products" on November 18.

Lucknow police had filed an FIR on November 17 at Hazratganj police station against several organizations, production companies, their owners and managers, as well as other unidentified individuals, for allegedly extorting money under the guise of halal certification and fostering religious animosity.

Google Pixel to Begin in India: Strategic Shift Amid Global Supply Chain Trends

Who is the yogi practicing yoga meditation amidst snowfall?

Supreme Court Overturns Chandigarh Mayoral Election Result in AAP's Favor