The Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed for four weeks the Centre’s notification banning sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter, and sought its response to PIls which contended that the rules should have been approved by Parliament first.
A Madurai Bench, comprising Justices MV Muralidharan and CV Karthikeyan, issued the interim order on the two pleas seeking quashing of the rules “as they are against the Constitution, breach the principle of federalism and are contrary to the parent legislation — Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960”.
Referring to the contention of the petitioners that the notification was related to food and hence ought to have been approved by Parliament, the judges asked the Centre to respond to the point also in its counter to be filed in four weeks.
The order has come amid a raging row on the ban, with non-BJP parties and State Governments of Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry stridently opposing the Centre’s recent notification.
Several places in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been witnessing protests during the past few days against the ban on sale of cattle for slaughter.
Protesters have alleged that it infringed upon the food habits of people. The PIls sought quashing of the provisions of Rule 22(b) (III) and Rule 22(e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulations of live stock Markets) Rules 2017 on the grounds that they were contrary to the parent act of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and the country’s Constitution.
Petitioners Selvagomathy and Asik Ilahi Bhava contended that the “provisions breached the cardinal principle of federalism” as it amounted to legislation in the fields earmarked for State legislature.
The new rules notified by the Union Environment Ministry banned the sale or purchase of bulls, cows, camels for slaughter houses or for sacrifice for religious purpose.
“The slaughtering of animals for food, the foods and culinary made out of such animal flesh and offering sacrifice of animals are part of cultural identity of most communities in India, protected under constitution,” the PIls said.
They said the rules, which deprived the people of the right to sell or purchase any animal for sale or slaughter as part of meat vending business, were a burdensome interference in the freedom of trade and business guaranteed under the Constitution. The right to choice of food (non-vegetarian or vegetarian) was part of the right to personal liberty and conscience and privacy. By imposing the ban on slaughter of animals for food, the citizens with the choice of eating meat would be deprived of such food, the petitioners said.