HC of J&K and Ladakh rejects plea seeking ban on animal sacrifice

Srinagar, February 21

The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has said the legality of the practice of sacrificing animals will depend upon traditions of a religion.

Dismissing a petition seeking a ban on sacrificing animals, a Bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Sindhu Sharma said, “Which practice of slaughtering or sacrificing animals is legal or illegal depends upon the traditions and customs of a particular religion and the place of worship. It is a matter of evidence which cannot be appreciated in the exercise of discretionary jurisdiction.”

The HC said the practice of killing animals is dealt with sufficiently under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act.

A priest, Tek Chand, had challenged the Constitutional validity of Section 28 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 while seeking a ban on the illegal practice of slaughtering of animals in the name of religious sacrifices.

After dismissing the petition, the court said the petitioner could approach the concerned head of the administration of the district for appropriate action in case the practice of sacrificing animals is being carried out in violations of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Chand said the religion of Islam didn’t prescribe any form of animal sacrifice and the same is a “cruel age-old practice that has arisen out of the misinterpretation of the texts of the Islamic faith”.