Obligated to protect cows: Delhi government in HC

NEW DELHI: Delhi government on Monday defended in the Delhi high court the current law criminalising possession and consumption of beef in Delhi, citing constitutional obligations.
The department of animal husbandry submitted before a bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar that the state is obligated under the Constitution to protect cows, and other milch and draught animals from slaughter.
In an affidavit the department said, “The Article 48 of the Constitution casts an obligation on the state to take steps to preserve, improve and prohibit slaughter of cows, calves, and other milch animals and draught cattle. Therefore, the provisions of the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act criminalising the possession and consumption of beef in Delhi cannot be declared unconstitutional.”
The affidavit was filed in response to a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of those provisions of the Act, which criminalise possession and consumption of beef in the city.
The petitioner NGO said, which claims to be working for the development of SC/STs, the Cattle Preservation Act (CPA) currently in force in the city is “a case of legislative overreach.” tnn