'Cow slaughter not part of Eid-ul-Adha': Calcutta HC upholds West Bengal govt's cattle slaughter restrictions
A bench of the High Court, including Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, strictly prohibited the slaughter of cows and buffaloes in public places
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday upheld the ban on cattle slaughter in public places and refused to stay the West Bengal government order regulating slaughter ahead of Eid ul-Adha.
A bench of the High Court, including Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, strictly prohibited the slaughter of cows and buffaloes in public places, Live Law reported.
The court said that the sacrifice of a cow is not part of any religious festival, adding that the slaughter of animals in a public place is strictly prohibited.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"Slaughter of animals, including cows and buffalo, in any open public place is strictly prohibited. Secondly, sacrifice of a cow is no part of the festival of ID-UZ-ZOHA and is not a religious requirement under Islam as held by the Supreme Court in the case of Mohd Hanif Quareshi & Ors Vs The State of Bihar," the court order stated.
The order comes as the petitioners, including TMC MP Mahua Moitra, challenged the Bengal government's recent notification regulating the slaughter of cattle.
The petitioners sought an exemption under Section 12 of the Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950, for performing the religious rituals during the festival.
"We are inclined to direct that the state shall take a decision in the teeth of Section 12 of the Act of 1950 regarding the exemption prayed for by certain petitioners," the court ruled.
What is the Bengal government order regarding cattle slaughter
The newly elected Suvendu Adhikari government, in a notification on 13 May, issued a set of guidelines barring animal slaughter without a "fit certificate" from authorities. The order also warned of penal action if the directions are not followed.
The government also made it clear that animal slaughter in open public places would be "strictly prohibited". A batch of petitions was filed soon after before the high court challenging the order with regard to the guidelines to be followed or compliance of West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950, according to PTI.
