Madras HC stays rules on cattle trade, seeks Centre's reply within 4 weeks

Govt banned sale of cattle for slaughter on May 26

The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed for four weeks the operation of new central government rules on cattle trade.

The court issued notice to the central government and asked it to file a reply within four weeks.

Earlier on Tuesday, West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan protested against the central governement's ban on sale of cattle for slaughter.

In a bid to prevent cruelty against animals, the central government on May 26 modified rules making it mandatory to ensure that cattle are not bought or sold at cattle markets for slaughtering. The list of animals includes cows, bulls, buffaloes, heifers, calves as well as camels.

Tensions have grown across states as camps remain divided on the ban issue. Opposition parties including the Congress and the Mamata-led Trinamool Congress have criticised the govertnment for imposing the ban.

Banerjee went on to say that the move was "undemocratic and unconstitutional", while the Congress unit in West Bengal dubbed the new cattle trade rules as whimsical. 

In fact, a BJP leader in Meghalaya, Bernard Marak, said on Monday that his party will not ban beef and legalise slaughter houses if it comes to power in the state, thus reducing the prices of meat.

However, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) warned the Congress and the CPI-M that they would "face the ire of public".