The Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court has quashed the Nagaland government's notification that banned commercial import of dogs, trade and sale of dog meat in markets, The court noted that the notification has been issued without passing any law in this regard. Along with this, the court said that the Chief Secretary of the State had no right to issue any such notification. On July 4, 2020, the Chief Secretary of the state had issued a notification for a complete ban on the commercial import trade of dogs and the sale of dog meat in the markets, citing the decision of the cabinet. Three persons supplying and selling dog and dog meat in Nagaland challenged the notification issued by the government in the High Court .The petitioners had named as respondents the Chief Secretary of the State, the Commissioner of Food Safety ,Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department, the Kohima Municipal Council, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, persons working for the welfare of animals. The main question before the bench of Justice Marli Baikoon was that Dog meat is not considered a food standard for human consumption; dog meat is not even rated as safe for human consumption. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has not included dog meat in the category of animals safe for human consumption, in which case the sale and consumption of dog meat should be allowed. The court said that it is not surprising that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has excluded dogs from the category of animals safe for human consumption as dog meat is consumed in some parts of the North-East. Out of which various tribes of Nagaland state eat dog meat and dog meat is a favorite food among them.These castes who eat dog meat believe that dog meat has medicinal properties, although there is no scientific basis for this. The court also considered the question of livelihood of petitioning traders as important. The High Court set aside the notification issued by the Chief Secretary of the State, observing that Chief Secretary is not the appropriate authority for efficient implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. The Act provides for the appointment of a Commissioner in the State. The court further said that in the absence of any law on trade and consumption of dog meat, the notification is not maintainable. Considering that even in modern times the consumption of dog meat is an accepted food among the tribes. It is to be noted that in pursuance of the circular of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India dated 6 August 2014, the State Government had issued notification.
