Supreme Court notice to Centre over its cattle ban

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre seeking its response on two public interest writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules 2017, regulating the sale of bovine animals for slaughter.

A vacation bench of Justices R.K. Agrawal and Sanjay Kishan Kaul issued the notice on petitions filed by Hyderabad-based Mohammed Abdul Faheem Qureshi, advocate and president of the All-India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee, and one Sabu George that sought a declaration the rules are unconstitutional and illegal. The bench said it would not pass any interim order at this stage and posted it for further hearing on July 11.

Reacting to the court notice, environment minister Harsh Vardhan said: “We will reach out to any person in India who has heartburn on this issue. The Supreme Court has given us time till July 11, but we will file our response before it. We have already said that whosoever has any concern related to this issue, we (Centre) will seriously and honestly address those.” The minister was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at Delhi Zoo. Union law and justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday that while the eating habits of people could not be controlled or regulated, there was a need to strike a balance as a large number of people in India revered cows. Speaking at a media interaction called to highlight his ministry’s work since May 2014, he referred to Article 48 of the Constitution, under Directive Principles of State Policy, which states: “The State shall take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.”

Earlier, additional soilicitor-general P.S. Narasimha informed the court that the Madurai bench of the Madras high court had already stayed the May 23 notification and that the stay applied to the whole of India. He said: “It is a misconception that there is a beef ban. The rules have organised the livestock market... The farmers now have the option of taking cattle to the livestock market or a slaughter market.  Whoever wants to purchase animals for slaughter... there is no controlled market and the rules don’t touch upon this. When we change the rules we might bring in regulation of the meat market.”

Assailing the rules, the petitioners contended that these were inconsistent, ultra vires, overriding and outside the purview of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, in which there is no prohibition on slaughter of animals. The provisions of the rules could not be used to override the provisions of the Act and it would render the entire scheme of the Act as useless and nugatory.

They said there were a number of incidents where the cow, bull or bullocks are transported by any goods carriage or carried on foot, they are generally seized either by the police or anti-social elements. The police is also helpless before such anti-social elements, who are violating the fundamental right of citizens to carry on the trade of purchasing and selling the cattle.

The PIL noted that the 1960 Act specifically provides for and permits the slaughter of any animal for the purpose of food.