Vijay government approaches Supreme Court against complete cow slaughter ban

The Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order imposing a complete ban on cow slaughter in the state except in cases permitted under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, which allows the slaughter of a cow only if it is over 10 years old, unfit for work or breeding and certified as such by the competent authority.

In its plea, the state government argued that the High Court had gone beyond the framework of the law by directing a blanket prohibition on cow slaughter, contending that the order exceeded the scope of the provisions laid down under the Act.

The challenge stems from a May 27 order by a division bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice V Lakshminarayan, which, while observing that animal slaughter could take place only in designated slaughterhouses, also directed the state's Chief Secretary and senior police officials to ensure that no cow or calf was slaughtered on Bakrid "or on any other day."

The court had directed authorities to issue appropriate instructions to officials across the state to ensure compliance with the order. According to a report in Live Law, the state government contended that these directions resulted in an internally contradictory judgment.

The High Court passed the order on a petition filed by Surya, state general secretary of the Indu Makkal Katchi, who sought directions to prevent the alleged illegal slaughter of cows in public places. The petitioner claimed that despite submitting a representation to the authorities, no action had been taken.

While considering the matter, the High Court referred to Article 48 of the Constitution, which directs the state to take steps to prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle.

It further observed that Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act permits the slaughter of a cow only if it is over 10 years old, unfit for work or breeding, and certified as such by the competent authority.

Holding that the provision must be interpreted strictly in light of Article 48, the court ruled that slaughter could be permitted only after obtaining the prescribed certificate.

The High Court based its ruling in part on a government order that said a ban on cow slaughter was necessary to improve milk production and support the rural economy.

The bench also relied on Supreme Court judgments holding that cow slaughter is not an essential religious practice associated with Bakrid.

"The Hon’ble Supreme Court observed that many Muslims do not sacrifice cows on BakrI’d day. Sacrifice of a cow on that day is not an obligatory overt act for a Musalman to exhibit his religious belief and idea," the bench noted.

"Sacrifice of any animal by the Muslims for the religious purpose on BakrI’d does not include slaughtering of cows as the only way of carrying out that sacrifice. Slaughtering of cows on this occasion is neither essential to nor necessarily required as part of the religious ceremony," the bench added.