MUMBAI--The BJP government in Maharashtra, which justified the ban on slaughter of cows in the Bombay High Court, on Monday told a two-member bench that it is “making a beginning” and “may consider” a move to ban slaughter of goats as well.
The bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice A R Joshi was hearing two petitions challenging a provision of the amended law banning the sale and consumption of beef in the state.
During the hearing on Monday, the court asked the state’s Advocate General (AG) Sunil Manohar why only slaughter of cows and its progeny has been banned. To which the government responded saying “we are making a beginning”.
The AG told the court that the objective of the ban was two-fold — to save animals from slaughter and preserving them for the agrarian economy. When it was pointed out that goats too are useful animals, the AG said it “may consider” such a move to ban slaughter of goats as well.
The AG, however, added that the state’s objective was not to promote vegetarianism or non-vegetarianism, but to regulate. “To regulate is not to prohibit absolutely,” he said.
The petitioners have challenged the validity of Section 5D of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, which stipulates that people in the state may not possess beef (meat of cow, bull or bullock) even if the slaughter is done outside Maharashtra.
Indian Express
