The Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a recent Madras High Court order that imposed a blanket ban on the slaughter of cows and calves in the state.
In its order dated May 27, the High Court directed the Chief Secretary and senior police officials to ensure that no cow or calf was slaughtered in Tamil Nadu either on the eve of Bakrid on May 28 or on any other day.
The ruling was based on a 1976 government order which observed that a ban on cow slaughter was necessary to increase milk production and improve the rural economy. The bench of Justice G.R. Swaminathan and Justice V. Lakshminarayan passed the order on a petition filed by Hindu Makkal Katchi general secretary K. Surya Prasanth.
In its appeal, the TVK-led government contended that the High Court's order was contrary to the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, which permits the slaughter of cows above 10 years of age that are unfit for work or breeding, subject to certification by a competent authority.
The government further argued that other laws, including the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, and the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023, regulate the conditions under which animals may be slaughtered but do not impose a total prohibition.
By directing a complete ban on cow slaughter, the High Court had effectively substituted judicial legislation for statutory law, the government argued in its petition before the Supreme Court.
