SC stays Madras High Court order on statewide cow slaughter ban in Tamil Nadu

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Madras High Court's order directing the Tamil Nadu government to enforce a statewide ban on cow slaughter by implementing a 1976 Government Order.

A Bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice on a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Tamil Nadu government challenging the high court's 27 May judgment.

During the hearing, the Bench observed that the impugned order required "correction" before granting interim relief and stayed its operation pending further proceedings.

The state government has argued that the high court's directions exceeded the scope of the law governing animal slaughter in Tamil Nadu. According to its petition, the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, regulates the slaughter of cattle by prescribing the conditions under which it is permitted, but does not impose a blanket prohibition.

The plea also referred to other statutory provisions governing animal welfare and slaughterhouses, including 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.

The state further contended that the original public interest litigation (PIL) had merely sought directions to ensure that animal slaughter was carried out only at authorised slaughterhouses. However, the high court went beyond the relief sought by directing that no cow or calf be slaughtered anywhere in Tamil Nadu.

The order under challenge was passed by a vacation Bench of justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan while allowing a PIL filed by K. Surya Prasanth, youth wing secretary of the Indu Makkal Katchi.

The petitioner had approached the high court alleging that temporary sheds had been erected in Coimbatore for cow slaughter during Bakrid and sought directions to prevent the slaughter of cows in public places.

Relying on Article 48 of the Constitution, which directs the State to prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle, the high court held that the government was constitutionally obliged to enforce such a prohibition.

The high court had also relied on a 1976 Government Order banning the slaughter of cows and heifers in slaughterhouses across Tamil Nadu, observing that the executive order carried the force of law and remained enforceable.

In addition, it ruled that the slaughter of animals could take place only in designated slaughterhouses and directed the chief secretary and senior police officials to ensure that no cow or calf was slaughtered in the state during Bakrid or on any other day, while issuing necessary instructions for strict compliance.

With IANS inputs