Recap: Allahabad HC on Cow Slaughter Act, SC on Plea By BJP's Ashwini Upadhyay

The Allahabad High Court recently stated that possessing or transporting a cow within the state does not violate the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act.This was in response to the bail plea of a man who was arrested and kept in jail for almost three months after six cows with no signs of physical injury were found in his vehicle. He was charged with offences under the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1956 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.The Court also noted that no evidence was presented by the State to show that physical injury to any cow or its progeny was done so as to endanger its life. .The Court granted the accused bail on certain conditions, on him furnishing a personal bond and two sureties of the like amount. A Supreme Court Vacation Bench, consisting of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Rajesh Bindal, requested a report from the Supreme Court registry about the last mention of Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay's petition to challenge Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and State Bank of India's (SBI) notifications. These notifications permit the exchange of Rs. 2000 currency notes without requiring any identity proof. Advocate Upadhyay mentioned his plea against the Delhi High Court's dismissal of his PIL, seeking to permit the exchange of Rs. 2000 currency notes only with identity proof, before the Supreme Court today. He stated that the matter was quite urgent. Justice Aniruddha Bose interrupted and asked, "Was this mentioned earlier?" To this, Upadhyay responded, "Yes, but there were many defects at that time, we have cured the defects now..."On 1 June, Upadhyay had mentioned the same matter before the Supreme Court vacation bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice KV Viswanathan. The bench had refused to entertain his urgent request, stating that it would not take up such matters during the vacations. The bench had allowed Upadhyay to mention the matter once the Apex Court had resumed after the summer vacations.Upon Upadhyay's submission, Justice Rajesh Bindal remarked, "The direction was given that it should be mentioned after the court reopens. How can you mention again? A coordinate bench already said to mention after the court reopens...You cannot come to a different bench..."Justice Bose said, "We'll seek a report from the registry on this. We'll grant you the liberty to mention this on Friday."The Centre told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, 7 June, that it will not notify till 10 July the formation of the government-constituted 'fact-check unit' under the new Information Technology Rules. This fact-checking unit, once constituted, will have the power to flag any content about any government business as 'fake', 'false' or 'misleading' and let intermediaries take action against it.The government, which had previously stayed the rules till 5 July, made the statement in response to a plea by stand up comic Kunal Kamra who recently filed a petition challenging the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 that were notified by the government.