The top court granted four weeks to the petitioners to file a rejoinder and said the matter would be heard in the week commencing March 24.The November 18, 2023 notification was issued by the office of the commissioner, Food Safety and Drug Administration, Uttar Pradesh, under the provision of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.In its counter affidavit filed in the top court, the Centre said the grievance of the petitioner related to the November 18, 2023 notification issued by the Food Safety and Drug Administration of Uttar Pradesh, which fell entirely under the jurisdiction and authority of the state.It said the Centre’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry had no role or authority over such state-level regulations or notifications and an FIR was registered against one of the petitioners at Lucknow in a case related to Halal certification.The affidavit said the ministry was primarily concerned with the promotion and regulation of international and domestic trade, industrial growth, and export promotion in India.It said the ministry had no direct or indirect role in the enforcement, regulation or administration of laws relating to food safety, drug administration or any other matter raised in the petition.”With an objective to streamline the halal certification process of meat and meat products as halal from India, Department of Commerce and APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) which is a regulatory body for export of meat, agricultural and processed food products requested QCI to develop a national scheme for certification of halal products,” it said.
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