Tamil Nadu government moves Supreme Court over cow slaughter ban order

The Tamil Nadu government is learnt to have approached the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order directing it to ensure that no cow is slaughtered in the state.

In its appeal, the state said that the original plea only raised the question of whether cows and calves could be sacrificed in places not designated as slaughterhouses on the occasion of Bakri Eid, but a division bench of the high court on May 27 went further and ordered an absolute and blanket ban.

The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government contended that the high court order goes against the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, which allows the slaughter of cows aged over 10 years if a competent authority declares them unfit for work and breeding.

The state also argued that even legislations such as the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 and the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023, do not impose any total ban on slaughter but only prescribe conditions for it.

The high court’s action, it argued, amounts to judicial lawmaking. The appeal also contested the high court’s conclusion that the relevant authorities had conceded the veracity of the averments in the petitioner’s affidavit filed in support of his writ petition. It said the state’s stand was that it had already taken necessary action to prevent slaughter in public places and that any sacrifice would be allowed only in confined spaces, away from the public.

Coimbatore resident K Surya Prasanth had approached the high court alleging that authorities had made arrangements for the ritual sacrifice in areas not designated as slaughterhouses. Though he submitted a representation to the authorities, it was not considered, following which he moved the high court.

In its counter-affidavit before the high court, the state police had said that officials visited the scene and inspected the place designated for cow slaughter. The authorities concerned had erected a temporary shed for conducting the slaughter in a non-public area, without causing any obstruction to traffic or offending the religious sentiments of persons belonging to other communities, the counter-affidavit added.

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High court cited the Constitution, Gandhi

In its judgement, the high court bench of Justices G R Swaminthan and V Lakshminarayanan cited Article 48 of the Constitution of India, saying that it mandated that the State shall take steps to prohibit the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.

“During the debates in the Constituent Assembly, it was pointed out that cow is a revered animal and that it has been associated with our civilisation from the time of Lord Krishna. During the rule of many Muslim kings cow slaughter was abolished. Cow protection was an issue so dear to Mahatma Gandhiji. The eminent scholar Shri Dharampal pointed out that only to cater to the dietary requirements of the colonial army, cows came to be slaughtered in very large numbers. After India attained independence, several States passed legislations and those legislations had also been upheld,” the court stated.

The judgment went on to cite Supreme Court rulings which said “sacrifice of a cow on that day is not an obligatory overt act for a Musalman to exhibit his religious belief and idea” and “slaughtering of cows on this occasion is neither essential to nor necessarily required as part of the religious ceremony”.

The high court, which interpreted the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, said that it allows slaughter only when the animal is over 10 years and is unfit for work and breeding.

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The division bench also noted that there was a Tamil Nadu government order of 1976 which banned slaughter of cows in the state keeping in mind the interest of milk production and the improvement of rural economy and said “since the executive power is co-terminus with the legislative power, a Government Order issued by the Government banning cow slaughter is very much sustainable and has to be enforced, as it has the force of law”.

Accordingly, it went on to direct the state government to ensure that no cow or calf is slaughtered on the eve of Bakri Eid or on any other day, and asked the chief secretary to the government and the additional director general of police (law and order) to issue suitable instructions to all the officials concerned to ensure that there is no breach of its order.