The Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order that imposed a statewide blanket ban on the slaughter of cows and calves.
The Division Bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice V Lakshminarayanan passed the order on May 27 on a Public Interest Litigation filed by K Surya Prasanth, General Secretary of Hindu Makkal Katchi, seeking directions to ensure that cattle slaughter during Bakrid was carried out only in authorised and designated slaughterhouses. However, the High Court went beyond the specific reliefs sought in the petition and directed a complete prohibition on the slaughter of cows and calves across the state on Bakrid as well as on any other day.
The state government challenged this order by way of a Special Leave Petition, contending that the High Court’s directions were ultra vires the statutory framework and contrary to the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958. The Act permits slaughter of cows only if they are above 10 years of age and certified as unfit for work or breeding by a competent authority.
The State further pointed out that the regulatory regime was also governed by allied legislation, 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, all of which regulate conditions for slaughter but do not impose a total prohibition.
The SLP contended that the High Court effectively substituted statutory law with judicial directions by imposing an absolute ban, amounting to judicial legislation and exceeding the limits of writ jurisdiction. It argued that once the legislature has permitted slaughter of a defined category of cattle under regulated conditions, a blanket prohibition through judicial order cannot be sustained.
The State also objected to the High Court’s reliance on a Government Order suggesting that restriction on cow slaughter was necessary to improve milk production and strengthen the rural economy. It contended that this executive instruction was not under challenge in the proceedings and, in any case, cannot override statutory enactments governing animal slaughter.
It further submitted that the scope of the original writ petition was limited to preventing illegal slaughter in public places in Coimbatore during Bakrid. However, the High Court expanded the scope of adjudication beyond the pleadings and granted reliefs not sought by the petitioner, including a statewide prohibition even in licensed slaughterhouses.
The state government argued that the judgment suffered from internal inconsistency. While the High Court observed that slaughter could take place only in designated slaughterhouses, it simultaneously directed that no cow or calf should be slaughtered on Bakrid or on any other day.
The petitioner further disputed the High Court’s observation that authorities had conceded that cattle slaughter would take place in public spaces. It clarified that the police had already taken preventive steps and clearly stated in their counter-affidavit that no slaughter would occur in public areas and that any ritual sacrifice would be strictly confined to enclosed and authorised premises in accordance with law.
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