Madras High Court refuses to lift ban on camel slaughter

The Madras High Court on Friday declined to lift its earlier order banning camel slaughter in Tamil Nadu and directed the government to ensure that its orders were not violated.

Dismissing a fresh plea seeking for a direction to authorities to create slaughter facilities in the state for slaughtering camel, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan also made it clear that jurisdictional police officers would be held responsible if camels were brought to their areas and slaughtered. 

The bench also dismissed the argument that camel slaughter came under essential religious practises. Referring to its August 18 order prohibiting slaughtering of camels in the state, the court said it was passed after hearing all stakeholders and could not entertain petitions that sought to circumvent its earlier orders. 

The court had then said that "in view of the stand of the Central Government and the provisions of the Central Act, including Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, at present we cannot have a situation where such camel slaughtering is permitted, especially in the absence of any facility for it." The court gave the order after hearing petitions for and against slaughtering of camels. 

The judges said today that they had issued the order not only due to absence of slaughter facilities in the state, but also due to other factors such as transportation of the animals from far off places, including Rajasthan, where shifting camels outside the state has been banned. 

"You cannot insist on sacrificing camel. Nobody prohibits sacrifice, but this animal is not in Tamil Nadu and it is not native to the state", the bench said dismissing a fresh plea ahead of Bakrid to lift the ban.