Supreme Court puts Madras HC's cow slaughter ban on hold

CHENNAI: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Madras High Court order that had directed a ban on the slaughter of cows and calves across Tamil Nadu, including during Bakrid, according to media reports.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the interim order while issuing notice on a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government challenging the High Court's directive.

The bench observed that the last paragraph of the High Court's order (which imposed the state-wide ban), prima facie required "correction", as reported by Live Law.

On May 27, a day before Bakrid, a Madras High Court Bench comprising Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayan passed the order on a PIL filed by Hindu Makkal Katchi General Secretary K Surya Prasanth.

While the petitioner had sought directions to ensure slaughter took place only at designated locations, the court went on to impose a blanket ban on the slaughter of cows and calves anywhere in the State on any day.

In its petition, the state government termed the order contrary to the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958.

The Act permits the slaughter of cows aged over 10 years that are unfit for work and breeding, on the basis of a certificate issued by a competent authority.