Madras HC stays Centre's ban on sale, purchase of cattle for slaughter

MADURAI/CHENNAI: Amidst raging debate over the motive of the Centre’s May 23 notification regulating cattle sale and animal markets , the Madurai bench of the Madras high court stayed its operation on Tuesday.An interim order to this effect was passed by a division bench comprising Justice M V Muralidharan and Justice CV Karthikeyan on a PIL filed by Selvagomathi and Asik Elahi Baba.Choice of food is individual’s right, and no one has any right to dictate it to them, said the PIL.Countering the arguments, the central government’s counsel argued that the notification had been brought about only to regulate the animal markets.The division bench of the court, issuing notices to state and central governments, directed them to offer their replies in four weeks.Among other things, the impugned notification imposes restrictions on cattle sale by farmers and mandates that it should be sold only to farmers that too after going through formalities such as providing identity cards, providing advance intimation to animal husbandry and revenue officials and after an undertaking from the buyer that he would not sell it for another six months and that the purchase is not for slaughter purposes.