The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Madras High Court order that had directed the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that no cow or calf was slaughtered anywhere in the state.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the interim order while hearing a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government challenging the high court's May 27 ruling. The apex court also issued notice to the respondents and agreed to examine the matter.
The state government had moved the Supreme Court against the high court's directive, which instructed authorities to prevent the slaughter of cows and calves across Tamil Nadu, including on the eve of Bakrid on May 28 and on any other day.
In its petition, the state government termed the order contrary to the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958.
The Act permits the slaughter of cows aged over 10 years that are unfit for work and breeding, on the basis of a certificate issued by a competent authority.
Earlier on July 1, the Tamil Nadu government had approached the Supreme Court challenging the May 27 Madras High Court's order, which imposed a blanket ban on the slaughter of cows and calves in the state.
The State government had argued that the High Court had gone beyond the framework of the law by directing a blanket prohibition on cow slaughter.
"In a writ petition seeking a direction to 'prevent the slaughter of cows in public places', the High Court ought to have travelled beyond the issue involved, to impose an absolute and blanket ban on the slaughter of cows and calves on the eve of Bakrid or any other day," the appeal of the government stated.
On May 27, the High Court, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by K Surya Prasanth, the General Secretary of Hindu Makkal Katchi, which sought direction to prevent the slaughtering of cows in public places, directed the State "to ensure that no cow or calf is slaughtered on the eve of Bakrid or on any other day".
The government submitted before the apex court that the High Court imposed a blanket ban on cow slaughter even in the designated slaughter houses, which is unsustainable in law for the reasons that it runs contrary to the statutory framework governing the practice of animal slaughter in the State of Tamil Nadu.
The petition submitted that the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023, and the relevant food safety regulations contemplate regulation of animal slaughter and not an absolute ban.
The government sought an interim stay on the operation of the High Court's directions.
