Uttarakhand high court bans animal sacrifices in the open for all religions
The high court directed that on the day of Eid-ul-Juha (Bakr-Eid) falling on August 22/23 “no animals including goat/sheep/buffalo shall be sacrificed in an open space, on any public street, or any thoroughfare in front of any place of worship”.
The Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday banned animal sacrifices in the open and dumping of blood and animal body parts in drains for Muslims, Hindus and followers of other religions in the state.
The HC directed that on the day of Eid-ul-Juha (Bakr-Eid) falling on August 22/23 “no animals including goat/sheep/buffalo shall be sacrificed in an open space, on any public street, or any thoroughfare in front of any place of worship”.
It also ruled that “no cow or cow’s progeny or camel shall be slaughtered on the day of Eid-ul-Juha (Bakr-Eid).” The court ordered that in larger public interest, prayers “shall be made only at the places earmarked by the district magistrates/SDMs throughout Uttarakhand.”
A division bench of acting chief justice Rajiv Sharma and justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari issued the directions following a letter by Prashant Aggarwal from Hindu Mahasabha, Haldwani. Aggarwal had raised concern about sacrifice of animals in the open and release of their blood into the drains. HC treated the letter as a PIL.
“No animal shall be sacrificed inside any temple, or in an open space, or any public street, or thoroughfare by the Hindus,” the HC ruled, asking district magistrates to ensure implementation of the directive. The HC ruled that directions will apply to all religions in the state.
The court directed all civic bodies in the state to ensure disposal of blood and body parts of the sacrificed animals.
The HC said that the state government should hold special patrolling to ensure there is no sacrifice of the animals in the open. The court also said that according to media reports, the Uttar Pradesh government has already pushed for no animal sacrifices in the open.
