The Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court has stayed the Nagaland government's blanket ban on commercial import and trade of dog meat and commercial sale of dog meat in markets and restaurants.
The order was passed earlier this week on November 25.
According to LiveLaw, the High Court had on September 14, given an opportunity to the Nagaland government to file affidavit, but the government did not file one.
In July, the Nagaland government banned commercial import, trading and sale of dog meat, after a picture of incapacitated canines tied in gunny bags was widely circulated on social media.
Dog meat is a delicacy in certain communities in the state.
Consumption of dog meat in the northeast has remained a topic of contention, given its prevalence in certain cultures and subcultures in the region.
In 2016, animal rights activists had sent a legal notice to the government over the dog meat trade.
"The state government has decided to ban commercial import and trading of dogs and dog markets and also the sale of dog meat, both cooked and uncooked. Appreciate the wise decision taken by the state's cabinet (on July 2)," Nagaland Chief Secretary Temjen Toy had tweeted in July.?