The Supreme Court has recently refused to pass directions to prohibit the slaughter of cow progeny, stating that the issue falls within the domain of the legislature.
The bench, comprising of Justices Abhay S Oka and Sanjay Karol, asserted that it can’t compel the legislature to enact legislation banning the slaughter of cow progeny.
The Court observed in its order passed on July 11 that, “[On] the prayer made by the appellant regarding prohibiting slaughter of cow progeny, we may observe that this is something which is for the competent legislature to decide. Even in writ jurisdiction, this Court cannot compel the legislature to come out with particular legislation.”
These observations were made while disposing of a batch of appeals that challenged the National Green Tribunal’s August 2018 order, which refused to ban the slaughter of milch cattle.
The appellant moved an application before the NGT with the following prayers:
-Direct the respondents to immediately take steps to save and conserve critically endangered indigenous species of livestock;
-Direct the respondents to immediately take preventive steps to contain the decline of indigenous breeds/species of cattle in India and effectively implement Rashtriya Gokul Mission;
-Direct the respondents to ensure that the promotion of cross-breeding and breeding with exotic breeds of cattle in India is regulated with minimum interference and disease exposure risk to the indigenous species of cattle;
-Direct respondents to take necessary steps to ensure that milch cattle of indigenous breeds are not slaughtered;
-Direct the respondents to take necessary steps to carry out research in improving milk yield of indigenous cattle without restoring to cross-breeding;
The NGT, considering the National Livestock Policy and State laws, determined that no specific directions were necessary in this matter.
Upon appeal, the Supreme Court issued notices to the State governments in 2019 and gathered information on the steps taken by various States in relation to the issue.
The appellant argued that a ban on cow slaughter would be beneficial for a significant portion of India’s population.
However, the Supreme Court did not find merit in this submission and upheld the NGT’s order.
The Court clarified that the petitioner can present necessary representations to the relevant authorities regarding the measures required to protect critically endangered indigenous livestock species.
