NEW DELHI — India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended a government ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter, a decision applauded by the multibillion-dollar beef and leather industries that are mostly run by members of the Muslim minority.

The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi decreed in May that markets could sell cattle only for agricultural purposes, including for use in plowing fields and dairy production.

The slaughter of cows, which many Hindus consider sacred, was already banned in most parts of India, but Hindu hard-liners and vigilante groups out to protect cows have been increasingly asserting themselves since Mr. Modi’s government came to power in 2014.

Muslims, who make up 14 percent of India’s population of 1.3 billion people, said the government’s decree against the beef and leather industries, which employ millions of workers and generate more than $16 billion in annual sales, was aimed at marginalizing them.