New Delhi: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court Wednesday granted bail to five men who spent over a month in jail for carrying 300 kg of chicken meat during the nationwide lockdown imposed in light of Covid-19.
The men — Asjad Gazi, Irshad Raza, Nihaluddin, Mohd Aqeel and Mohd Shahid — were in jail since 13 April. They, along with two others, were arrested, after the chicken meat was found in the four-wheeler they were travelling in during the lockdown.
Their lawyer, advocate Ajay Kumar Shukla, told ThePrint that the men supply meat to various hotel chains across Lucknow.
They were charged under Sections 188 (disobeying a public servant’s order), 268 (public nuisance), 269 (negligent act likely to spread a life endangering disease), 270 (malignant act likely to spread a life endangering diseases), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for cheating), 420 (cheating) and 471 (using a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005 and Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.
While the other two men were granted bail on 7 May, the bail application of the remaining five was heard on Wednesday.
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‘Chicks, eggs and meat were essential services’
In court, the lawyer for the men contended that the State Director of Animal Husbandry had clarified on 3 April that “chicks, eggs and meat” are essential commodities and therefore, these men did not commit any crime.
The government lawyer, however, opposed their bail application on the grounds that the accused were carrying the chicken meat “by showing forged pass”. However, he accepted that the central as well as state governments had clarified that chicken meat is an exempted commodity during the lockdown.
Without getting into the merits of the case, Justice Rajeev Singh granted bail to the men, on a personal bond, imposing the usual bail conditions on them. They were asked to cooperate with the trial, remain present in court for the proceedings and refrain from tampering with any evidence.
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