Supreme Court stays Madras HC’s blanket ban on cow slaughter in Tamil Nadu

The Supreme Court, on Monday, July 13, stayed the Madras High Court’s order directing a blanket ban on the slaughter of cows and calves anywhere in Tamil Nadu on Bakrid or any other day. The apex court was issuing notice on a Special Leave Petition filed by the state government challenging the ruling.A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta passed the interim order after hearing the state’s challenge to the May 27 judgment of the Madras High Court. The bench observed that the last paragraph of the High Court’s order, which imposed the statewide ban, prima facie required “correction.”Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government.The state contended that the High Court’s order was contrary to the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, which permits the slaughter of cows above 10 years of age if they are certified by the competent authority as unfit for work and breeding. It also argued that 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 an absolute prohibition.The state further argued that by directing a complete ban, the High Court had effectively substituted statutory law with judicial directions.The impugned order was passed by a Division Bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice V Lakshminarayanan on May 27 on a public interest litigation filed by K Surya Prasanth, General Secretary of the Hindu Makkal Katchi. The petitioner had sought directions to ensure that cow slaughter did not take place in public places and that slaughter was confined to designated facilities.The High Court had held: “We allow this writ petition with a direction to the State of Tamil Nadu to ensure that no cow or calf is slaughtered on the eve of Bakrid or on any other day.”The Tamil Nadu state government argued before the Supreme Court that the High Court had travelled beyond the scope of the writ petition by granting relief that had neither been pleaded nor sought. It maintained that the original petition was limited to preventing slaughter outside authorised slaughterhouses and ensuring implementation of the existing legal framework.The state further submitted that authorities had already intensified surveillance, identified designated slaughterhouses, deployed officials for inspections and taken preventive measures to ensure that no slaughter took place in public places.The petition also challenged the High Court’s reliance on Government Order No. 1715 of 1976, contending that its validity or applicability had not been in issue before the court and that an executive instruction could not override statutory enactments governing animal slaughter.The state additionally objected to the High Court’s discussion on whether cow slaughter constituted an essential religious practice during Bakrid, arguing that the issue neither arose from the pleadings nor required adjudication in the case.The Supreme Court has issued notice on the state’s plea and stayed the operation of the Madras High Court’s judgment pending further consideration of the matter.