The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to ensure that cows are not slaughtered in “public places or other non-designated areas” during the Bakrid celebrations on May 28.
A bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan said that slaughter of animals can only be done in slaughterhouses or at places specifically designated by the relevant authorities under the law.
The court said: “It is not possible to slaughter anywhere you want… The issue of carrying out slaughter in an undesignated place does not arise at all,” adding that state authorities remain “obligated to implement the applicable legal provisions.”
The court passed the order on a petition filed by a Coimbatore resident, K Surya, who alleged that the local authorities had made arrangements to slaughter cows and calves at places that were not notified or designated as slaughterhouses before Bakrid or Eid-ul-Dhuha celebrations.
The petitioner claimed that the local administration had allowed the establishment of “temporary barns” for slaughter. He said he filed a complaint on May 18 with the local police and the association demanding that they take immediate steps to prevent the slaughter of cows in public places and rescue cows allegedly brought for illegal slaughter. However, he received no response.
Meanwhile, the Coimbatore Police filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court saying that officials had designated certain “temporary places” for cow slaughter.
Questioning the situation, the court asked how temporary sheds could be considered legal slaughtering places when the Urban Local Bodies Rules in Tamil Nadu stipulated that slaughter should be conducted at designated places only. She added that the police cannot independently decide which places can be used as slaughter areas.
The court also observed that the representation and plea of the petitioner in the writ petition were “not well drafted.” However, she said that this would not prevent her from studying the substantive issue before her.
Referring to the 2020 bench order and the 1976 government order on cow slaughter, the court clarified that Tamil Nadu law did not impose an absolute ban on cow slaughter in all circumstances. However, it considered that slaughter had become impermissible unless the authorities met the legal conditions.
