The Maharashtra government on Thursday informed the Bombay High Court that they would require more time to file its reply in the matter pertaining to beef ban as they are yet to receive some information from the Deputy Inspector General's (DIG). "We are awaiting information from the DIG on how many offences were registered before framing of Section 5D of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, (which restricts people from bringing beef from outside the state and consuming it) and how many have been registered subsequently," said the court's lawyer. [related-post] A division bench of justice V M Kanade and justice B P Colabawalla was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by citizens after the prohibition of beef. In April 2015, the court had refused to grant an interim stay on the said section but had directed the state and the police authorities not to take coercive steps for three months for possession of the meat. The court had asked the state to file its reply on July 17 and the matter is adjourned for July 24.
