Reply on why cow vigilante groups shoudn't be banned: SC to centre, six state governments

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre and six states, seeking to know why groups calling themselves cow protectors should not be banned like other outlawed outfits for taking the law into their hands.

The SC notice was in response to a petition filed by Congressmen Tehseen and Shahzad Poonawalla that drew the court’s attention to reports of cow vigilantism in several states, including the latest instance of lynching of a person in Alwar.

Among other things, the duo sought the court’s intervention in preventing the repeat of such instances. The petition listed out at least 10 incidents in different parts of the country in recent months, where Dalits and Muslims were targeted. It expressed alarm over the failure of the state machinery to prevent such incidents.

After hearing short arguments of senior advocate Sanjay Hedge, who represented the petitioners, a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra issued notices to Union home and law ministries and governments of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Kar nataka and Maharashtra.

All respondents have been asked to explain within three weeks administrative measures taken to prevent such vigilantism and if they thought there was the need to ban ‘gau rakshaks’.



“Using religion to terrorise cannot be condoned,” the petition said. It argued that the state machinery in states had failed to rein vigilantes and sought court intervention to make governments accountable for failing to do so. The petition pointed to flogging of Dalits to lynching of Akhlaq, Noman and Zahid, custodial death of Minhaj Ansari and the recent killing Pehlu Khan, all carried out in the name of cow protection in different states.

“Unfortunately, in states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana the groups were glorified,” a note later issued to the media said. The PIL referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that 80% vigilante groups were actually criminals masquerading as protectors of cow.