At a time when the country is witnessing large-scale protests and debates over a notification issued by the Centre banning sale of cattle for slaughter in the animal market, the Rajsthan High Court on Wednesday recommended that cow be made the national animal of India.
The high court also asked the government to increase the punishment to life imprisonment for those who kill cow.
The court made these observations while hearing a public interest litigation over the death of over a hundred cows at a government-run cow rehabilitation shelter at Hingonia, near Jaipur.
A single-judge bench of justice Mahesh Chand Sharma also directed the Rajasthan forest department to plant 5,000 plants in and around the cowshed every year.
"Nepal is a Hindu nation and has declared cow as national animal. India is a predominant agriculture country based in animal rearing. As per Article 48 and 51A (g) it is expected from the state government that they should take action to get a legal entity for cow in this country," he said in his order.
The bench also granted liberty to any person or class of persons to approach court with a plea in a PIL to declare cow as a national animal.
The Rajasthan High Court's comments came a day after the Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed the Centre's notification for four weeks.
Protests erupted in several parts of the country after the Narendra Modi government issued the order last week, with various parties accusing the Centre of denying people their right to choose their food. Kerala, the largest beef consumer in the country, witnessed several beef festival conducted by various Left outfits.
