Shaffi Ullah vs State of U.P. and Others

D.S. Sinha, J.—Heard Shri Amar Saran, the learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner, and Shri Vinay Malviya, the learned standing counsel of the State of U. P., representing the Respondents.

The Petitioner asserts that he belongs to the backward community of Quareshis and carries on the business of transport of the flesh of old and unserviceable bulls and bullocks that are eligible for slaughter under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955 (hereinafter called the ''Act'') from District Etawah to other places like Delhi and Bombay.

Further assertion of the Petitioner is that he also purchases the flesh of those buffaloes and of old and unserviceable bullocks, which are over 15 years in age, or permanently unfit and unserviceable for the purpose of draught or any kind of agricultural operation and in respect of which the concerned butchers who are licensed to slaughter the animals at public slaughter houses, and have actually slaughtered the animals after obtaining certificate in Form ''B'', prescribed under the Uttar Pradesh Govadh Nivaran Niyamavali, 1964 (hereinafter called the ''Rules'') made under the Act, from the Respondent No. 3, namely, the Pashu Chikitsa Adhikari, the competent authority designated u/s 2(cc), as envisaged in Section 3 of the Act.

The grievance of the Petitioner is that whenever he tries to transport the aforesaid meat to outside places like Delhi or Bombay from where the meat is exported, the authorities illegally insist and demand production of a licence for transport of the flesh in question. Hence this petition.

The learned Counsel of the Petitioner contends that for carrying on the business of the Petitioner, as stated in the petition, no licence is required, and, therefore, the insistence of the authorities for obtaining licence by the Petitioner for the kind of the business which he is carrying on is wholly illegal.

As long back as on 14th August 1992, the Respondents were granted three weeks'' time for filing counter-affidavit. But, despite the lapse of an interminable period of more than seven years, the Respondents have not cared to file any counter-affidavit. Therefore, the Court is left with no choice except to conclude that the averments of the Petitioner made in the petition are prima facie correct.

Section 5 of the Act provides that except as therein excepted and notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no person shall sell or transport or offer for sale or transport or cause to be sold or transported beef or beef-products in any form except for such medicinal purposes as may be prescribed. Exception conceived of in the section is that a person may sell and serve or cause to be sold and served beef or beef-products for consumption by a bona fide passenger in an aircraft or railway train.

Therefore, the question that arises for consideration is whether the flesh of a bull or bullock which is over the age of 15 years, or in case of a bull, which has become permanently unfit and unserviceable for the purpose of breeding and, in the case of bullock, which has become permanently unfit and unserviceable for the purpose of draught or any kind of agricultural operation, and has been so certified by the competent authority, and has been actually slaughtered after obtaining the requisite certificate under the Act and the Rules, is covered by the expression ''beef'' or ''beef-product'' as contemplated by Section 5 of the Act.

Clause (a) of Section 2 defines ''beef'' to mean flesh of cow and of such bull or bullock, whose, slaughter is prohibited under the Act, but does not include such flesh contained in sealed containers and imported as such into Uttar Pradesh.

The prohibition regarding slaughter of a cow, or a bull or bullock is contained in Section 3 of the Act. Section 3 says that, except as provided, no person shall slaughter or cause to be slaughtered, or offer or cause to be offered for slaughter a cow, or a bull or bullock, unless he has obtained in respect thereof a certificate in writing, from the competent authority of the area in which the bull or bullock is to be slaughtered, certifying that it is fit for slaughter, in any place in Uttar Pradesh, anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or an usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. The section provides that the competent authority shall issue requisite certificate only after it has, for reasons to be recorded in writing, certified that the bull or bullock is over the age of fifteen years or in the case of a bull, it has become permanently unfit and unserviceable for the purpose of breeding and, in the case of bullock, it has become permanently unfit and unserviceable for the purposes of draught and of any kind of agricultural operation, provided that the permanent unfitness and unserviceability has not been caused deliberately.

According to Section 4 of the Act, nothing in Section 3 of the Act shall apply to the slaughter of a cow, bull or bullock which is suffering from specified disease, or which is subjected to experimentation in the interest of medical and public health research, and the slaughtering is done in accordance with the prescribed conditions and circumstances.

Thus, subject to the provision of Section 4 of the Act, slaughter of a cow is totally prohibited. Slaughter of a specified bull or bullock, after obtaining in respect thereof the prescribed certificate in writing from the competent authority, is not prohibited by the Act.

On issuance of the requisite certificate u/s 3 of the Act, the flesh of such bull or bullock which has been certified to be fit for slaughter, ceases to be ''beef'' or ''beef-product'' conceived in Section 5 of the Act, and the prohibition contained in the said section stands removed. Accordingly, for carrying on the business of transport or purchase of the aforesaid flesh, neither there is any prohibition nor is there any requirement of obtaining any licence under the Act.

It is not disputed that the Petitioner carries on the business of purchase and transport of flesh of only those bulls or bullocks which are over the age of fifteen years, or have become permanently unfit and unserviceable for the purpose of breeding or have become permanently unfit and unserviceable for the purpose of draught or any kind of agricultural operation, as the case may be, and are actually slaughtered by the butchers who are licensed to slaughter animals at public slaughter houses, after obtaining the requisite certificate u/s 3 of the Act. That being so, the Petitioner is not liable to obtain any licence under the Act for carrying on his business for purchase and transport of the aforesaid flesh of bulls or bullocks, and the Respondents are clearly wrong in insisting upon the Petitioner to obtain a licence for that purpose.

For what has been said above, the petition succeeds and is allowed. The Respondents are commanded not to insist upon the Petitioner to obtain any licence for carrying on the business of purchase and transport of the flesh of such bulls or bullocks which are slaughtered on a certificate issued u/s 3 of the Act by the competent authority certifying that such bulls or bullocks are fit for slaughter.