[Sabarimala Halal jaggery] Kerala High Court questions petitioner on meaning of Halal

The Kerala High Court, on Wednesday, expressed its confusion at the objections raised by a Hindu organisation against the use of halal certified jaggery at the Sabarimala temple (SJR Kumar v Travancore Devaswom Board & Ors.). .The Court observed that since halal, an Islamic concept, only defines what is lawful and permitted including certain food items, greater clarity would be needed on what exactly the petitioner was objecting to..A Division Bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and PG Ajithkumar, therefore, questioned the petitioner's counsel on the exact scope of the term ' halal' as understood by the petitioner.The Court was hearing a case alleging that "spoiled halal jaggery" is used in the preparation of Nivedyam/ prasada at the temple.The Court said that as per its understanding, the concept of halal only forbids the use of certain items while permitting others."The concept of halal only says that certain things are prohibited, all other things are halal. This certification only says that those materials are not in a particular product. This is there in other countries like UK and some Supreme Court decisions speak about it," Justice Narendran orally remarked..The Court repeatedly asked the petitioner to clarify his own understanding of the concept of Halal and expand on his reasons to oppose its use."What is your understanding of this concept of Halal, because you've said lots of things in your writ petition as well as in the reply affidavit. Before arguing against it, you must understand the concept," the Court said..It was then submitted on behalf of the petitioner that as per the statements in the plea, the jaggery is halal certified which is particular to a community, pertaining to the rituals of a community and is made uttering verses from a holy text.Upon hearing the admission that the petitioner had not examined the concept in depth, the Court remarked, "before filing a writ petition, you must go deep into the concept.".The plea, filed by the General Convenor of Sabarimala Karma Samithi through advocate V Sajith Kumar, contended that the use of expired or halal certified jaggery is illegal on two fronts:use of spoiled materials would create health hazards to the innocent devotees;use of Halal certified jaggery which is prepared as per the religious practices of another religion in the temple and offering the same to the deity would amount to serious violation of religious customs and rituals followed at the temple from time immemorial..On the first aspect, the respondent Board and Sabarimala Special Commissioner as well as the State Food and Safety Department had already filed statements clarifying that the jaggery that had remained unused in 2019-2020 due to the pandemic lockdown had been auctioned off to a firm in Maharashtra for use in preparation of cattle-feed.Subsequently, the petitioner filed a reply affidavit arguing that the old jaggery is not being used in cattle-feed alone.To these allegations, the Court pointed out that the firms to which the jaggery had been auctioned off to and the contractor who now supplies jaggery to the temple, have not been added to the party array.Opining that the same is improper, the Court issued an interim order today directing the petitioner to file applications to implead the relevant firms and contractors..While the Court had so far only focused on the possibility that the jaggery might be old and spoiled, today it shifted its attention to the petitioner's objection to the use of Halal-certified jaggery..The Court noted that the assumptions made in the petition seem to have considered all halal certification to be similar to the process of slaughtering in compliance with Islamic Dietary laws.The Court suggested that the petitioner must look into the concept in detail and posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday, November 25.