The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to ensure that cow slaughter is not carried out in public places or other non-designated areas during Bakrid [Surya Vs State].
A Bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan said that slaughtering of animals cannot be permitted at any place of one’s choosing but must take place only in a slaughterhouse or in an area specifically designated by the competent authorities.
“Slaughter cannot be done in any place you want,” the Court observed during the hearing.
The authorities are duty-bound to enforce the applicable law, the Bench added.
The direction was passed on a petition filed by a Coimbatore resident and political activist, who alleged that arrangements had been made for slaughtering cows and calves in places that were not notified or designated as slaughterhouses.
The Court was particularly critical of the stand taken in the counter-affidavit filed by the Inspector of Police of D2 Selvapuram Police Station in Coimbatore. The affidavit indicated that certain temporary places had been earmarked for cow slaughter.
Questioning this, the Court asked how temporary sheds could be treated as lawful slaughtering places.
The Court also made it clear that the police could not decide which place should be treated as a slaughtering area. Such designation, it indicated, must come from the competent local authority under the applicable law.
The petitioner had earlier submitted a representation to the authorities seeking steps to prevent cow slaughter during Bakrid. Since no action was taken, he moved the High Court.
The Court noted that the petitioner’s representation and writ prayer were not happily worded. However, it said that this would not prevent it from examining the core issue.
The Court referred to an earlier Division Bench order of the High Court dated July 30, 2020, as well as a 1976 Government Order issued by the State of Tamil Nadu on cow slaughter.
It clarified that the law does not impose an absolute ban on cow slaughter in every situation. However, it held that cow slaughter becomes impermissible unless the conditions under the applicable law are satisfied.
The Court further referred to the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023 and said that slaughter can be carried out only in a designated place.
“Therefore, the question of carrying out slaughter in a non-designated place does not arise at all,” the Court said.
Although the petition concerned Coimbatore, the Court said the statutory provisions must be enforced across Tamil Nadu. Therefore, it directed the Chief Secretary and the DGP to ensure that no cow slaughter is allowed in public places or non-designated areas during Bakrid.