Madras High Court puts cow slaughter ban in Tamil Nadu on hold

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Monday stayed the operation of the Madras High Court ruling that directed the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that no cow or calf is slaughtered on Bakrid or any other day.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice in the matter and stayed the high court's order. According to the Tamil Nadu government's plea, the May 27 high court order effectively imposed a blanket prohibition that contradicted a statutory scheme governing animal slaughter in the state and granted relief that the petitioner had not sought.

The high court order was passed on a plea seeking directions to prevent the slaughter of cows in public places during Bakrid in Coimbatore, the state government said.


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The petitioner before the high court had only sought implementation of the existing laws and directions to ensure that animal sacrifice did not take place outside authorised slaughterhouses. The authorities had also informed the court that necessary arrangements had been made to ensure the regulations were enforced, the state said. However, after observing that slaughter should be permitted only at designated slaughterhouses, the high court went on to direct the state to ensure that "no cow or calf is slaughtered on the eve of Bakrid or on any other day", the state government said in the petition.