On June 28, the Calcutta High Court refused to pass urgent orders in a plea seeking to stop alleged illegal cow slaughter on Bakri-Eid scheduled to be held in West Bengal on June 29. The court’s Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta, agreed to list the case for an urgent hearing.
CJ Sivagnanam rebuked the practice of last-minute mentioning. He said, “You know this festival has been scheduled for weeks, months, in advance. Why wait till now? This last-minute business will not work sir. You should have come 15-30 days in advance. You can be rest assured that we cannot pass orders by 2pm. With that caveat we will hear.”
The petitioner moved the court seeking an urgent listing of the case, contending that if the court does not intervene then it would lead to “lakhs of cows being slaughtered on the occasion of Bakri-Eid.”
The court heard the petitioner’s contentions and questions about what directions were issued in the previous year. The petitioner responded that the Supreme Court and various High Courts had passed orders directing the State administrations and police to curb instances of cow slaughter and regulate the same.
CJ Sivagnanam orally remarked, “Then you should have dragged these people to court in contempt, what is the point in filing this petition afresh, contempt could have been filed [for enforcement of Courts orders] instead.”
The petitioner contended that they were under the impression the State administration and police would enforce the court’s orders; however, when they did not, the petitioner approached the court.
The court remarked that while the petitioners were aware of Bakri-Eid being scheduled for June 29 for months, they chose to approach the court at the last moment and such practice should not be encouraged.
VHP’s Demand to Prohibit Cow Slaughter on Eid
Millions of animals are slaughtered all over the country on Bakri-Eid (Eid-ul-Zuha), but, it is being heard that this time round millions of cow progeny have already been ghettoized and congressed at different places in Bharat to be put to the long knives on this Eid on June 29. Ahead of the festival, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in their general meeting demanded cow slaughtering be prohibited this Eid.
The VHP Secretary General Shri Milind Parande, in the meeting at Raipur, said, “In other countries around the world, cows are not slaughtered on Eid, then why this conspiracy and obduracy to slaughter cows in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh only? Definitely, in the name of Eid, gruesome butchering of cows is done to offend and wound the Hindu sentiments.”
He added, “This time also they have such a design which is unacceptable to the Hindu society under any circumstances. Bharat is the land of Bhagwan Shri Ram, Shri Krishna, Shri Mahavir, Shri Buddha and Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji where Hindus are committed to protecting the cow progeny.”
Recently, in Nanded (Maharashtra), Muslims gave false information to Bajrang Dal about keeping cow progeny at a place. When the unarmed Bajrang Dal Karyakartas reached there, they were ambushed by already armed Muslims, in which a Bajrang Dal Karyakarta was also killed. The entire Gow-Bhakt Hindu society needs to beware of such intrigues and plots. There is a tradition in the country to protect the cow progeny. The verdicts of the Supreme Court and the Indian laws prohibit cow slaughter in the country.
In a press note released by the VHP, the organisation said, “Vishva Hindu Parishad urges upon all the State Governments of the country to stop the butchery and massacre of the cow progeny on Eid-ul-Zuha, otherwise, the Bajrang Dal Karyakartas are determined to protect the cow progeny democratically.”
