On February 14, the Allahabad High Court urged the Government of India to take an appropriate decision on the cow slaughter ban and to declare cow as a ‘protected national animal.’
Justice Shamim Ahmed dismissed Mohd Abdul Khaliq’s plea for quashing the chargesheet framed under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act. The accused-applicant after an FIR was lodged against him on November 2, 2019, based on an informer’s information that he was carrying beef, he was subsequently booked u/s 3, 5 & 8 of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act.
The Court framed the facts of the case as “a first information report dated 02.11.2019 was lodged by the at Police Station Dewa, District Barabanki with the allegation that on an information received by informer when A.S.I.-Dharmendra Kumar Yadav and other police personnel reached at Sarsaudi Village near the school they saw one person coming holding a sack, on seeing police personnel that person tried to return back, but the police caught him and on his search beef of cow progeny was found in the sack holding by him. On interrogation the said person told his name Zahoor, he told that he along with the applicant are involved in cow slaughtering and he was going to Lucknow for selling the same.”
The Court observed, “the contention of the learned counsel for the applicant that no offence against the applicant is disclosed and the present prosecution has been instituted with a malafide intention for the purposes of harassment, has no force.”
The Court said, “We are living in a secular country and must have respect for all religions and in Hinduism, the belief and faith is that cow is representative of divine and natural beneficence and should therefore be protected and venerated.” The Court continued, “the cow is the most sacred of all the animals of Hinduism. It is known as Kamadhenu, or the divine cow, and the giver of all desires.”
The Court observed the cow’s association with motherhood and Mother Earth. The Court also observed that there were legislations against cow slaughter in princely states till the 20th century and said, “Subsequently, with the rise of the ideal of Ahimsa (“non-injury”), the absence of the desire to harm living creatures, the cow came to symbolize a life of nonviolent generosity. In addition, because her products supplied nourishment, the cow was associated with motherhood and Mother Earth and legislation against cow killing persisted into the 20th century in many princely states.”
The Court observed the cow’s value according to Hindu texts and scriptures stating, “In the Mahabharata, Bhishma (grandfather of the leaders of warring factions) observes that the cow acts as a surrogate mother by providing milk to human beings for a lifetime, so she is truly the mother of the world. The Puranas state that nothing is more religious than the gift of cows. Lord Rama was given a gift of many cows.”
The Court urged the Government of India to take an appropriate decision on the cow slaughter ban and to declare cow as a ‘protected national animal’ stating, “This Court also hope and trust that the Central Government may take appropriate decision to ban cow slaughtering in the country and to declare the same as ‘protected national animal’.”
The Court concluded that prima facie the accused-applicant had committed the offence and said, “The interference at the threshold of quashing of the charge sheet/criminal proceedings in case in hand cannot be said to be exceptional as it discloses prima facie commission of an offence. In the result, the prayer for quashing of charge sheet/ criminal proceedings of Case No. 1548 of 2020, State Vs. Mohd. Khaliq, arising out of Case Crime No. 462 of 2018, under Section 3/5/8 of Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, Police Station Dewa, District Barabanki is refused. There is no merit in this application filed by the applicant under Section 482 Cr.P.C.”
