New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu Government has filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court directive that imposed a complete, state-wide ban on the slaughter of cows and calves. The state government approached the apex court arguing that the high court exceeded its judicial mandate by turning a regulatory legal framework into an absolute prohibition. The special leave petition, filed by the Secretary to the Animal Husbandry Department, seeks an interim stay on the high court’s directives pending a final disposal of the appeal.
The legal dispute traces back to a May 27 order passed by a vacation bench of the Madras High Court, comprising Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan. The bench directed the state Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police to strictly ensure that no cow or calf was slaughtered anywhere across Tamil Nadu, specifically during the Bakrid celebrations on May 28 or on any subsequent day. This strict judicial directive came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by K. Surya Prasanth, the youth wing secretary of the Indu Makkal Katchi. Interestingly, the original PIL had only prayed for directions to prevent the open sacrifice of cattle in public spaces and to ensure that animal slaughter was restricted exclusively to legally authorized, designated slaughterhouses.
In its comprehensive ruling, the Madras High Court heavily relied upon a decades-old provincial executive directive from August 1976, which had prohibited cow slaughter in the state to safeguard milk production and boost the rural economy. The high court bench observed that since executive power is co-terminus with legislative authority, the 1976 government order remained highly sustainable and legally enforceable. To further consolidate its stance, the court cited Article 48 of the Constitution of India, which explicitly mandates that the State must take proactive steps to preserve cattle breeds and prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves, and other milch or draught cattle.
However, in its petition before the Supreme Court, the Tamil Nadu Government strongly countered that the high court’s sweeping, blanket ban runs completely contrary to the statutory framework of the state. The government highlighted that the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, explicitly permits the regulated slaughter of cows aged over 10 years that are deemed completely unfit for work or breeding, provided a proper fitness certificate is issued by a competent local authority. The state argued that the high court essentially engaged in judicial legislation by disregarding the balanced statutory scheme established under the 1958 Act, the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, and modern food safety regulations, which seek to strictly regulate slaughterhouses rather than enforce an outright, total ban.
