Uttarakhand HC issues contempt notices to government officials over open animal slaughter in Haridwar

Source: newindianexpress.com

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday issued contempt notices to secretary, urban development of Uttarakhand, district magistrate of Haridwar district and Senior Superintendent of Police, Haridwar for non-compliance of Court’s directions regarding the slaughter of animals in the open. 

Kartikey Hari Gupta, counselling for the petitioner said, “In September 2018, the honourable court had passed orders banning the slaughter of animals in open and in public view in the whole state. The court had further directed that no slaughter of animals shall be done by anybody without a legal slaughterhouse in the state.”

At present DM of Haridwar is Dipendra Chaudhary, senior superintendent of police is Senthil Avoodai while secretary, urban development for state government is Shailesh Bagoli. 

In January, this year, the petitioner, Muhammad Waseem, a resident of Haridwar also filed a contempt petition on which the HC taking serious note a of the violation of its orders regarding animal slaughter in the open had called the DM of Haridwar district in person. 

The then district magistrate of Haridwar, Deepak Rawat appeared before the court and assured that no illegal slaughter of animals shall be carried out in the district. The petitioner produced photographic evidence before the HC in August 2019 clearly showing that the animals were slaughtered in the open streets and all blood is going in the drains and ultimately to river Ganga. 

Last year, in its order, the court had remarked, “How can the authorities permit the slaughtering of animals in the streets, in villages and towns, is beyond our comprehension. Animals also have constitutional legal rights. The authorities cannot remain mute-spectators towards the slaughtering of animals, that too, in a very beastly manner.”

The court had observed in the order, “It is the duty cast upon all the executive officers of the local self-government, municipal corporations, municipalities, nagar panchayats and other panchayats to ensure that no animal is slaughtered in the public streets/paths/roads and at open spaces, open to public gaze.”