Tamil Nadu moves SC against Madras HC’s cow slaughter ban

The Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court’s order directing the immediate enforcement of a statewide ban on cow slaughter by implementing a 1976 Government Order.  

The special leave petition (SLP), filed by the Secretary to the Government, Animal Husbandry Department, is presently under the apex court’s defect list and is yet to be listed for hearing. 

In its plea, the Tamil Nadu government has challenged the May 27 order of the Madras High Court, which directed the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police to ensure that no cow or calf is slaughtered anywhere in the state, either during Bakrid



celebrations or on any other day. 

The state government has contended that the High Court’s directions travel beyond the statutory framework governing animal slaughter in Tamil Nadu. According to the petition, while the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958, regulates the slaughter of cattle by prescribing conditions under which it may be permitted, it does not impose a blanket prohibition. 

The state government has also relied on other applicable laws, including the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 and the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023.