Cow slaughter not part of Eid or Islam: Calcutta HC

Key points

• KOLKATA: Cow sacrifice is neither a part of Eid-uz-Zuha nor a religious requirement under Islam, Calcutta HC said on Thursday while refusing to quash the Bengal govt's order regulating cattle slaughter ahead of the festival or grant interim relief based on a batch of PILs challenging the administration's directive.The division bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen asked the state to consider within 24 hours whether an exemption could be granted under the same 1950 law cited in the order, pointing out the festival falls on May 27-28. The BJP govt's May 13 order mentions the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950, and a 2018 HC order, both of which mandate the prohibition of cow and buffalo slaughter unless a certificate is obtained that the animal "is fit for slaughter.
• "HC asked the state to examine if Article 12 of the 1950 Act, which empowers...