india

Updated: Sep 30, 2019 23:26 IST

The Tripura government on Monday said it would soon move the Supreme Court against the high court’s order last week banning animal sacrifice in temples.

“We respect the decision of the High Court. But the High Court order evoked mixed reactions in the state. The matter is very sensitive. The government has some commitments. The matter needs to be decided in a wider spectrum. So, we have decided to file a Special leave Petition in the Supreme Court over the order. A similar case of Himachal Pradesh is pending in the apex court. If the order comes from there, it will be smooth for us to implement it,” Tripura law minister Ratan Lal Nath told the reporters at state’s Civil Secretariat.

Later, speaking about Article 25 (1) of the Constitution which guarantees religious freedom of individuals, the minister said, “Religion is a personal issue. What an individual believe, is his religion. For Muslim, Christian and Buddhists, there is one prophet each. But Hindus have 33 crore deities. A Hindu, if he is an atheist, can opt for any choice. If anyone feels he will get punya (virtue) if he sacrifices a goat, it is his religion.”

A Tripura high court’s division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjoy Karol and justice Arindam Lodh on September 27 ordered a ban on animal sacrifice in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by retired judge Subhash Bhattacharjee in 2018.

Prior the government, royal scion and former chief of the state unit of the Congress Pradyot Kishore Deb Burman said that he would challenge the High Court order and file a petition in the Supreme Court.

The high court had also ordered the concerned district magistrates to install cameras at Tripureswari or Tripurasundari temple in Gomati district and Chaturdash Devata Bari Temple in West district where large number of animals are sacrificed.