Unhappy over poor upkeep of gausadan, HC tells DFO to be present with record

The Himachal High Court on Friday expressed serious concern over the issue of poor maintenance of a cow sanctuary/gausadan at Luthan village in Jawalamukhi of Kangra district. It directed the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) concerned and the officiating Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, to remain present before the court along with the relevant record on December 16.

A Division Bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Satyen Vaidya, passed the order on a public interest litigation (PIL) highlighting the plight of cows in the gausadan.

During the course of hearing, the court was informed that the case had been handed over to the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau police station at Dharamsala for further investigation. On this, the court directed the investigating officer to remain present before the court with the record of the case on the next date of hearing.

In its earlier order, the court had directed the state government to furnish the details of the amount spent on the cow sanctuaries/gausadans being run by it. The court had also appointed the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Kangra, to inspect the Radhe Shyam cow sanctuary at Luthan village in Jawalamukhi and submit a report regarding its condition.

During the course of hearing, the court was informed that the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Kangra, at Dharamsala had also filed a report but it was not on record. The court directed the Registry to place the report on record and supply its copies to all parties.