Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court direction that barred the slaughter of cows or calves in public places in the state, including during the Bakrid festival.
The High Court order was passed by a vacation bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshmi Narayanan while hearing a public interest petition filed on May 27 by Surya Prasanth, an office-bearer of the Hindu Makkal Katchi from Coimbatore district.
In its directions, the bench said cows and calves should not be slaughtered in Tamil Nadu either for Bakrid or on other days. It also held that the police have no authority to set up temporary sheds and declare public places as slaughter sites.
The court further stated that if animals are to be slaughtered as per law, it must be done only in properly licensed meat facilities approved by local bodies. It also observed that Islamic religious tenets do not mandate sacrificing only cows during Bakrid and that other animals can be offered.
Following the order, the High Court had instructed the state’s Chief Secretary to ensure compliance. The state has now approached the Supreme Court against these directions, a move that has triggered reactions in political circles and among Hindu organisations, according to the report.
