No nationwide ban on cow slaughter: SC dismisses PIL

Lucknow: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed before it seeking a complete ban on cow slaughter in every state across the nation.

The top court said that it has already passed orders on measures to stop illegal interstate transportation of cattle.

In August last year, around 36 beef dealer associations across Maharashtra filed a petition in the top court challenging the ban on the slaughtering of cattle.

The dealers asked the court to permit the slaughtering of bulls and bullocks.

The petition challenged the constitutional validity of the Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2015, that bans the slaughtering, possession, consumption and import of beef in the state.

Earlier in the year, the Maharashtra government banned the slaughtering of bulls, bullocks and cows by amending the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1976, which was later challenged in the Bombay High Court.

The Bombay High Court in May upheld the ban on cow slaughter.