Hyderabad HC : No fundamental right to insist on cow slaughter

In consonance with the union government’s cattle sale regulation order a single bench at the Hyderabad high court has observed that Muslims have no fundamental right to insist slaughtering healthy cows on the occasion of Bakrid.

Justice B Sivasankara Rao while dismissing a plea of Ramavath Hanuma of Gorikekineni Thanda a tribal hamlet in Nalgonda district of Telangana on Friday, quoting Supreme Court’s orders said that Apex court has discarded the contention that cows must be slaughtered on Bakrid.

He directed Telugu states to make killing of cows a non bailable offence, by making provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and IPC section 429 very stringent. He wanted to take action on the veterinarians who certify healthy cows as unfit making them available to illegal slaughter.

Hanuma pleaded that 63 cows and two bulls which he claims to have brought for grazing have been confiscated by the authorities. He denied that he brought them for slaughter on Bakrid. His earlier plea for custody of cattle at a Nalgonda trial court has been dismissed.

The justice even recalled the wisdom of Moghul emperor Babar for prohibiting slaughter of cows as a religious obligation. Justice Rao further observed that the question whether the accused is entitled to have custody of the very cattle he was planning to sell for sacrifice needs to be answered in view of national importance of cows.