Court bans beef in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Thursday banned the “sale of beef” in the state and did not proscribe cow slaughter as such as that has been strictly prohibited by law for the past nearly 120 years in spite of the fact that it is a Muslim-majority state.

Sections 298-A and 298-B of J&K’s Ranbir Penal Code of 1932, which govern the slaughter of cattle in the state, say voluntary slaughter of any bovine animal such as cow, ox, bull or calf shall be punished with imprisonment of up to 10 years and/or a fine that may extend to five times the price of the animals slaughtered, as determined by the court.

Possession of the flesh of slaughtered animals is also an offence punishable with imprisonment up to one year and fine up to Rs 500.

The law, first introduced during autocratic Dogra rule in 1896, was retained by the post-1947 government.

A High Court division bench comprising Justices Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Janak Raj Kotwal actually banned the sale of beef in J&K as a PIL filed before it by local lawyer Parimoksh Seth had claimed that though slaughtering or killing of a cow, ox, bull or calf is a punishable offence under the Ranbir Penal Code, the slaughter of these bovine animals was rampant in the state.

After hearing senior advocate Sunil Sethi for the PIL and additional advocate-general Vishal Sharma who appeared for the state, the division bench issued directions to the director-general of police to ensure that appropriate directions are issued to all SSPs, SPs and SHOs for the enforcement of the ban on the sale of beef.

“Strict action shall be taken in accordance with law against those who indulge in this activity,” it said.

Earlier, the court observed that the “divisional commissioner of Kashmir had not filed an appropriate response regarding the smuggling and slaughter of bovine animals and, subsequently, their sale, especially in the Kashmir Valley”.

The BJP, which rules the state in partnership with the PDP, welcomed the court order.