Apex court rejects PIL seeking complete ban on cow slaughter

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a complete ban on cow slaughter in every state across the nation. The top court said that it has already passed orders on measures to stop illegal inter-state transportation of cattle. In August last year, around 36 beef dealers associations across Maharashtra filed a petition in the top court challenging the ban on the slaughtering of cow. The dealers asked the court to permit the slaughtering of cattle - bulls and bullocks, and out a ban on cows. The petition challenged the constitutional validity of the Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2015, that bans the slaughtering, possession, consumption and import of beef in the state. Earlier in the year, the Maharashtra government banned the slaughtering of bulls, bullocks and cows by amending the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1976, which was later challenged in the Bombay High Court. The Bombay High Court in May upheld the ban on slaughter.