The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court order directing the southern state to impose a complete ban on cow slaughter.
In its petition filed on June 9, the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) government argued that the Supreme Court’s directions effectively rewrite the law by imposing a blanket ban that does not exist under any of the existing state laws. The government also said the Supreme Court wrongly relied on a 1976 government order imposing a ban on cow slaughter in all slaughterhouses in Tamil Nadu, which was issued on the grounds that it would improve milk production and boost the rural economy.
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The petition, which is pending before the Supreme Court, challenges the May 27 order passed by a bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan on the eve of Bakrid. The petition filed by the state also named K Surya Prasanth, youth wing secretary of Indu Makkal Katchi, who was the original petitioner before the Madras High Court, along with senior officials of the state, as respondent parties.
According to TVK, the Supreme Court’s directions go against the Tamil Nadu Animal Conservation Act, which allows the slaughter of cows older than 10 years if they are certified by the relevant authority as permanently unfit for work or breeding. The government said the law, along with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act and the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, regulates the slaughter of animals but does not impose a complete ban.
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The petition before the Supreme Court alleged that local authorities in Coimbatore allowed slaughter at temporary, undesignated places before Bakrid, seeking directions to prevent such slaughter.
However, the government said the bench led by Justice Swaminathan directed the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to ensure that no cow or calf is slaughtered anywhere in Tamil Nadu whether on Bakred or on any other day.
The government also said the Supreme Court order was internally inconsistent. “While the Supreme Court rightly observed that slaughter can only take place in designated slaughterhouses or places notified under the law, it has at the same time imposed a complete ban on slaughter of cows and calves,” the government said.
