The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court granted a four week stay on the Central Government’s notification on cattle slaughter.
It has directed the state and the Government of India to reply in four weeks.
In response to a PIL filed at the high court, an interim order was passed by a division bench comprising of Justice M V Muralidharan and Justice CV Karthikeyan.
Choice of food is individual’s right, and no one has any right to dictate it to them, said the PIL.
Countering the arguments, the central government’s counsel argued that the notification had been brought about only to regulate the animal markets.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had last week notified new rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which bans sale of cattle for slaughter in open markets across the country.
On May 26, the Centre had issued new rules that require cattle traders to give an undertaking that the animals being sold at markets would only be used for agricultural purposes. Several states have massively criticised the notification, including Kerala, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh, among others.
The decision is expected to hit export and trade of meat and leather, as well.
The rules define cattle as a bovine animal including bulls, bullocks, cows, buffaloes, steers, heifers and calves and camels.
The new rules also prohibit establishment of an animal market in a place which is situated within 25 km from any state border and within 50 km from any international border.
Various bodies and political parties have reacted sharply to the government’s decision to ban the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter, saying it is an “ill-advised” decision which will widen the “terrorism” by cow vigilantes.
