J&K cow slaughter: SC to hear plea on Oct 5

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on October 5 a petition filed by the Jammu and Kashmir government challenging two “conflicting” orders of the high court on slaughter of bovines and ban on beef sale.

As the state claimed that two different orders by separate benches of the high court had created law and order problem, a bench presided over by Chief Justice H L Dattu decided to hear the matter.

Senior advocate Amrendra Sharan sought urgent listing of the petition that contended the high court orders were being “misused” to disturb peace and communal harmony. The Jammu bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had ordered enforcement of the bar on the sale of beef in the state under the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), the Srinagar bench, on the other hand, agreed to hear a separate plea seeking scrapping of the provision that bars slaughter of bovine animals. “Two mutually conflicting orders have grave ramifications on the law and order situation in the state, as the orders are being misused and interpreted in a manner so as to disturb the peace,” the state government claimed in its petition.

The state government urged the court to “ensure uniformity and consistency in the judicial pronouncements”. The Jammu High Court’s bench had on September 8 directed the police to enforce the provision under the RPC barring sale of beef in the state.