Madras HC stays Centre’s Rules prohibiting sale of cattle for slaughter [Read petition]

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court today stayed the Centre’s recently notified Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 which prohibits the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets..The Bench of Justices MV Muralidaran and CV Karthikeyan issued notice to the central and the state governments today in a petition filed by social activist and lawyer S Selvagomathy..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Senior Advocate Ajmal Khan, appearing for the petitioner, confirmed the news. He said,.“The Bench directed the central government to file counter in four weeks. In the meantime, the Court ordered an interim stay on the Rules, holding that a prima facie case is made out.”.The petitioner challenges Rules 22(b)(iii) and 22(e) as being ultra vires the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and Articles 14, 19, 21, 25 and 29 of the Constitution. 22(b)(iii) states that no person shall bring cattle to an animal market without furnishing a written declaration that the cattle is not meant to be sold for slaughter. 22(e) prohibits the purchaser of cattle to sell it for slaughter..It also states that Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act provides an exhaustive list of acts which are deemed to be cruel to animals, and that slaughter is not one of them..“In fact, the legislature has positively provided vide section 28, that killing of any animal in any manner required by the religion of any community to be outside the purview of the Act of 1960. Therefore, from the above express provisions of the Act, it is clear that the Act of 1960 was not enacted by the Parliament to in any way prohibit or restrict any act of slaughter of animals for food or for religious sacrifice or the sale of animals for the same.”.It goes on to question the Centre’s competence to frame Rules which go beyond the scope of the Act. On the topic of Freedom of Religion under Article 25, it states,.“The impugned provisions by prohibiting such slaughter for religious purposes, had sought to emasculate the right of every citizen to freely practice his religion according to the belief of his community. The practices associated with religion or rites perceived by the community to be a part of worship, is a essential facade of religion, protected under Article 25 of the Constitution of India….…Further, it is also to be noted that slaughtering of animals for food, the foods and culinary made out of such animal flesh and offering sacrifice of animals is a part of the cultural identity of such communities, which is protected from any legislative or executive encroachment under Article 29 of the Constitution of India…”.Further,.“Similarly by imposing a complete ban on the sale or slaughter of animals subject matter of the Rule irrespective of whether the animal is economically useful, is a burdensome interference into the freedom of trade guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution of India…”.The petitioner also states that the Rules would adversely affect the farmers’ right to life under Article 21 and even says that it will give cow vigilantes more fuel to push their agenda..“Further, the complete ban of sale or purchase or resale of animals, would cast a huge economic burden on the farmers who find it difficult to feed their children today but would be required to feed the cattle as it is an offence under the Act of 1960 to starve an animal or failure to maintain it. Therefore, it would be to subject the farmers to lower level of standard of living and nutrition and would also give way for Cow Vigilantes to harass farmers under the blessing of the impugned regulations.”.On the aforementioned grounds, the petitioner had prayed for an interim stay on the Rules 22(b)(iii) and 22(e), and asked the Court to pass a direction declaring the Rules as unconstitutional..Read the petition: