| Date: |
10-03-2016 |
| Subject: |
Kerala HC upholds ban on export of shark fins |
KOCHI: A single bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday upheld central government's decision to ban export of shark fins.
Justice A Muhamed Mustaque upheld the ban after considering three petitions filed by exporters challenging the ban imposed by Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) through a notification issued on February 2 ndlast year. The court held that the decision to impose a ban is part of a policy decision of the central government and no interference by the court is warranted.
According to the petitioners, dried shark fins were being exported to north eastern countries for over a decade. While the fins are not put to any domestic use here, it is in high demand in north eastern countries for cooking Chinese foods and soups, petitions said. As per an export order cited by one of the petitioners, value of a consignment consisting of 500 kilogrammes of dried shark fin is Rs22.92 lakh.
Through the notification issue don February 2 nd, DGFT had prohibited export of shark fins of all species. The petitioners had alleged that the notification was not published in the official gazette and, therefore, is not legally valid.
Central government had informed the court that the ban on export of shark fins is based on an international convention named Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which India is a signatory. As per CITES, export of seven species of shark fins were to be banned but a total ban was imposed in India as it is difficult to identify between the species. The petitioners have no fundamental right to export. In the absence of a fundamental right, the court cannot interfere with a policy decision of the government, Customs' counsel John Varrghese had argued.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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