Telangana high court to hear contempt plea against GHMC chief over Gandhi Jayanti meat ban | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: Telangana high court will on Monday hear a contempt petition filed against GHMC commissioner RV Karnan, alleging that he violated a previous court order by directing the closure of slaughterhouses and meat and beef shops across Hyderabad on Oct 2 in connection with Gandhi Jayanti.The matter was mentioned as a lunch motion before Justice NV Shravan Kumar on Oct 1. The judge directed that the contempt petition be taken up for hearing on Monday.The petitioner, Vadla Srikanth, a law graduate from Tarnaka, had earlier challenged a GHMC order imposing a ban on cattle slaughterhouses and retail beef shops. According to the petition, the high court, while disposing of his writ petition in Feb, had directed authorities to strictly follow the provisions of the GHMC Act, 1955, while issuing such orders.His counsel, Vijay Gopal, submitted that despite the court’s directions, the GHMC issued a press release on Sept 30 announcing the closure of sheep, goat and cattle slaughterhouses, as well as retail meat and beef shops, on Oct 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.The petitioner contended that the decision was not backed by regulations framed in accordance with the GHMC Act and that the relevant regulation had not been notified in the gazette.He further argued that the closure of meat and beef shops affects the fundamental rights of traders and citizens under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and, therefore, any such restriction must strictly conform to the law.Alleging wilful disobedience of the Feb order, the petitioner sought initiation of contempt proceedings against the GHMC commissioner and requested the court to impose a cost of ₹50,000 on him.