Prayagraj Prayagraj, August 26 : The Allahabad High Court has said that the mere transportation of cows in the state isn’t an infraction of the requirements of the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act.The court on Thursday overturned an order issued by Varanasi District Magistrate (DM) to confiscate a vehicle on the grounds that it was transporting animals in the process of slaughtering without having a valid permit.
Accepting a petition submitted by one Mohammad Shakib, Justice Mohammad Aslam further ruled that there is no permit required to transport cows and their progenitors in the state.
A truck was seized by the police , and confiscated in August 2021, on the ground of illegally transporting cows, without any legal authority.
In addition, an FIR was lodged in accordance with the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act and the Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act.
The proprietor of the truck filed an application for release of the vehicle before the DM that was denied.
Following that, he filed a criminal revision that was also denied.
He then appealed to the high court to challenge the DM’s decision and also the revisional court’s decision.
In opposition to his plea The state counsel argued that a cow and its offspring cannot be transported in Uttar Pradesh without a permit pursuant to Section 5A of the Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act and the regulations on the transportation of bovines.
He also mentioned additional added provisions that are concerned with the confiscation of the cow as well as the transport medium through which the cow as well as its progeny are transport in the violation of the rules of the Act and in accordance with the applicable rules.
“Hence it is possible to have it taken away and confiscated by law enforcement officials,” he said.
The court took into consideration the previous high court ruling in the case of Kailash Yadav and Others vs.State of UP & others, 2008(10) ADJ 623 in which it was held that no permit was required for the transportation of cows or their progenitors in Uttar Pradesh.
Thus, the court ruled that it was not possible to say that the vehicle in the case was operated in contravention of Section 5A (1) to (11) or any other provisions of the Cow Slaughter Act, and thus, the police have no authority or power to seize or seize the vehicle in the case in.
The court stated that the Varanasi district magistrate had issued the disputed confiscation order on August 18 2021 in violation of the law since there was no permit required to transport the cow or its offspring in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
In this context the court decided that the decision of the Varanasi DM was not a valid court decision and set the order aside.
amita/
