Tamil Nadu Moves Supreme Court Against Madras HC Order Banning Cow Slaughter On Bakrid And Other Days
· Free Press Journal
Chennai, July 1: The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court order directing the State to ensure that no cow or calf is slaughtered on Bakrid or any other day.
In its appeal, the government has argued that the High Court went beyond the scope of the original petition and issued directions that are contrary to the statutory framework governing animal slaughter in the State.
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The Special Leave Petition, filed through the Secretary to the Government, Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare Department, challenges the High Court's May 27, 2026 judgment.
According to the Supreme Court website, the petition was filed on June 9 and is currently on the defect list for correction of filing defects, Live Law and Bar & Bench reported.
State Challenges High Court Order
The Tamil Nadu government has contended that the High Court effectively imposed a blanket ban on cow slaughter despite the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, permitting the slaughter of cows aged over 10 years that are unfit for work or breeding, subject to certification by the competent authority.
The petition also points to other laws, 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.
According to the State, these laws regulate animal slaughter but do not impose a total prohibition. It has argued that the High Court's direction effectively replaced the statutory scheme with a judicial mandate, Live Law and Bar & Bench reported.
Plea Questions Expanded Scope
The order was passed by a Division Bench of Justice G.R. Swaminathan and Justice V. Lakshminarayan on May 27, on the eve of Bakrid, in a public interest litigation filed by K. Surya Prasanth, General Secretary of Hindu Makkal Katchi.
According to the State, the original petition only sought directions to prevent the slaughter of cows in public places during Bakrid in Coimbatore and to ensure that slaughter took place only in authorised slaughterhouses.
However, the High Court expanded the scope of the case and directed the State to ensure that “no cow or calf is slaughtered on the eve of Bakrid or on any other day.”
The government has argued that the court granted relief that was neither pleaded nor sought. It has also pointed out that while the High Court observed that animal slaughter could take place only in designated slaughterhouses, it simultaneously imposed a complete ban on the slaughter of cows and calves, resulting in what the State described as an internally contradictory judgment.
The petition further challenges the High Court's reliance on Government Order No. 1715, issued in 1976 to prohibit cow slaughter in the interest of improving milk production and the rural economy.
According to the State, the validity or applicability of the government order was never under challenge, and executive instructions cannot override statutory provisions.
The State has also disputed the High Court's observation that authorities had effectively conceded that cows were being or would be slaughtered in public places. It said its counter-affidavit had clearly stated that police had intensified surveillance, identified designated slaughterhouses, deployed officials for inspections and taken preventive measures to ensure that no slaughter took place in public places, with any ritual sacrifice confined to enclosed, non-public locations.
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Calcutta HC Refuses To Stay West Bengal's Eid Slaughter Guidelines, Seeks Decision On Exemption PleaThe petition also argues that the High Court unnecessarily examined whether cow sacrifice is an essential religious practice under Islam, even though the issue was never raised by the parties and was not required for deciding the case.
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