The Supreme Court on Tuesday refrained from hearing an urgent public interest litigation (PIL) seeking an order to stop cow slaughter on the eve of the holy month of goats. The bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant expressed surprise at the court’s approach on the eve of the festival and said the last-minute plea did not require an urgent hearing.
Advocate Varun Kumar Sinha raised the matter before the bench on Tuesday and pleaded for an urgent hearing. The lawyer told the court that the application will be heard on Wednesday in the interest of strict enforcement of the Bakrid Tai Anti-Cow Slaughter Act tomorrow. “You remembered it just a day ago. There is no urgent need. Thank you,” said the bench. With this comment, the court refused to hear the matter.
The appeal was made by Satish Kumar Aggarwal, former vice-president of the All India Hindu Mahasabha. The PIL has sought an order to strictly enforce the anti-cow slaughter laws in force in the country to protect cows and their offspring from slaughter. The petition requested the state governments to issue specific guidelines to regulate slaughterhouses in each state as per the law.
In the current situation, the Supreme Court has not taken up the matter as urgent, leaving any possibility of any fresh order or intervention of the court in banning cow slaughter before goats. A decision will be made as to whether the application will be heard through the normal court process at a later date.