Slaughtering cow inside house not a breach of public order: Allahabad High Court

The bench quashed the detention of three men under the National Security Act on charges of cow slaughter

In a significant judgement, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has said that slaughtering a cow inside one's house cannot be considered to be an act of breach of public order.

A division bench comprising Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav made the observation while quashing the detention of three men under the National Security Act (NSA) on charges of cow slaughter. "Cutting cow beef in pieces in the secrecy of his own house can at best be described as a matter affecting law and order and not public order,'' the court said in its order delivered a few days back.

''The petitioners and co-accused were mutely arrested when they were found cutting beef in the wee hours of the morning in the house of the petitioners... We also do not know whether the cause was poverty, lack of employment or hunger, which may have compelled the petitioners and the other co-accused to take such a step... It is thus, a matter of quality and degree whether the act has been done in the public gaze and in an aggressive manner with scant regard to the sentiments of the other community or whether it has been done in a concealed manner, which can resolve the question whether the case is one involving public order, or is only a matter affecting law and order,'' it said.

Citing a Supreme Court judgement in a case, the bench also said that it could not be inferred from a solitary incident that the petitioners would repeat the act. "The apex court has held that it is possible for the detaining authority to assume that the accused could repeat the action, but for reaching that conclusion there must be some material and circumstances on record, to justify such a conclusion... in the instant case there was no material for reaching the conclusion that the petitioners/detenues would repeat the activity in future,'' the court said.

The police had arrested Parvez, Irfan and Rahamatullah after they were found to be cutting beef inside their house at Biswan in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district, about 90 kilometres from here last year. The district administration later slapped the NSA on them stating that their act threatened public order and that there was a possibility that they would repeat the act if released.