Supreme Court stays Madras HC order banning cow slaughter in Tamil Nadu

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Madras High Court order banning cow slaughter in Tamil Nadu, Live Law reported.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the interim order and issued notice on the special leave petition filed by the state government.

The bench noted that the last paragraph of the High Court order prima facie required a “correction”.

On May 27, the High Court passed a blanket order banning the slaughter of cows and calves across the state on any day. The order came on a public interest litigation filed by the general secretary of the Hindu Makkal Katchi seeking directions to ensure that slaughter in Coimbatore takes place at designated locations and not in public places.

The High Court order came a day before Bakrid.

The Tamil Nadu government argued that the High Court granted a relief “which was neither pleaded nor prayed”, Live Law reported.

Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the state, argued that the High Court order was in contrast to the 1958 Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, Live Law reported. The Act allows the slaughter of cows older than age 10 that are unfit for work or breeding, subject to a certificate issued by the authorities.

Similarly, other applicable laws regulate the conditions under which animals may be slaughtered but do not impose a...

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