Scarifice on Bakar Id Is it humane - Is it legal?

[Guest guest]

Scarifice on Bakar Id - Is it humane - Is it legal?

 

Hargij nahi pahunchte Allaha ke pas kurbanio ke gost aur unke khun,

 

Albata pahunchta hai alllah ke pas tumhara Takana aur prahejgari

 

(Kuran Soor- e- haz)

 

 

 

Every year Id ul Julha commonly known as Bakari Id is celebrated in

whole world. A festival of joy converts into big killing spree hurting

strong feelings of animal lovers. The photos shown above shows that how

much inhumane is this act. Under Provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to

Animals Act, 1960 it is illegal even to exhibit the performance of

animals in films where no killing takes place but on Bakari Id day This

can be seen every where in the country. Millions of speechless animals

irrespective of Camel, cow, goat are brutally slaughtered in name of

religion heartening the sentiments of animal lovers & depriving good

milk to children.

 

 

 

All religions propagate compassion to speechless animals. Fundamental

duties Article 51-A of our Constitution decided that It shall be the

duty of every citizen of India (g) to protect and improve the natural

environment including forests, lakes, rivers, & wildlife and to have

compassion for living creatures & directed under Directive Principle of

State article 48 that The State Shall endeavor to organize agriculture &

animal Husbandry on modern and Scientific lines and in particular take

steps in preserving and improving the breeds and prohibiting the

slaughter of Caws, Calves & other Milking animals. Though Article 25

provides Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and

propagation of religion (Subject to public order, morality and health

and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally

entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess,

practise and propagate religion) but clarifies that Nothing in this

article shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the

State from making any law.

 

Different religions were propagating & parasitizing their traditional

rituals like early marriage, immolation of widow with deceased

husband(Sati pratha) Sacrifice on different festivals. But, different

Acts were enacted to prohibit these rituals in public interest . Sharda

Act prohibited early marriage & there is absolute ban on even glorifying

Sati . Old tradition of road side sacrifice & in Temples are curbed

under different Act & Rules. All these Acts and Rules are applicable

irrespective of Cast & Creed. Some are here as under:

 

 

 

Indian Penal Code 429 puts rigorous punishment on mischief by killing,

poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any elephant, camel, horse,

mule, buffalo, bull, cow, or ox , what so ever may be the value thereof

, or any animal of the value of fifty Rupees or upwards, shall be

punished with imprisonment or with fine or both

 

Prevention of Cruelty Act of 1960 was enacted to prevent cruelty to

animals and its Rules regulates Transportation of Animals,

Slaughterhouses, Establishment of Societies for Providing Compassion to

Animals (SPCA) etc

 

 

 

Under the provisions of Constitution of India States enacted suitable

Act & rules prohibiting slaughter of animals. like Maharastra Government

enacted The Maharastra Animal Preservation Act, 1976 (9 of 1977), West

Bengal Animal slaughter Control Act, 1950 (22of 1950) etc. Karnataka

Prevention of Cow Slaughter & Preservation of Cattle Act, 1964. etc

 

 

 

 

 

On the eve of Bakari Id we find ourselves helpless and watch the gross

violation of Union & State Acts & Rules. Preparation starts many month

in advance & we find†king of desert “ Camel near the sea

towns like Chennai , Mumbai Kolkata . Herds of good healthy Cow & other

animals can be seen most cruelly transported from one corner of country

to other corner without respecting legal provisions and sentiments of

animal lovers. Apart from gross violation of law of the land, as a

matter of fact it attracts contempt of Honorable Supreme Court decision

by Hon’ble Justice J Majumdar, Justice Kuldeep Singh & Justice

B.L. Hansaria in Civil Appeal No. 6790, etc of 1983 Wst Bengal State

V/s. Ashutosh Lahiri & Others, (civil Appellate Jurisdiction) AIR 1995

S.C. 464

 

As mentioned above, under Directive to State Principle 48, States

enacted law to prohibit Slaughter

 

& West Bengal Animal slaughter Control Act, was enacted in 1950 & under

the provisions of its Sec. 12 State Government exempted the slaughter

of healthy cows on the occasion of Bakri Idd. The order was challenged

in Calcutta High Court and The Division Bench of Calcutta High Court

issued a mandamus to the applicants calling upon them to forbear from

giving any exemption under Sec. 12 of the Act in respect of slaughter of

cows on the occasion of Bakari Id day therein after. West Bengal

Government preferred appeal for its order restoration (permission for

slaughter on Bakari Idd). Which was rejected .

 

The Honorable Court decided the issue after discussing different issues

like religious obligation, democracy, old tradition etc & held that

There is no Religious obligation : In reference Honorable Court observed

The Constitution Bench decision of this Court in Mohd. Hanif

Quareshicase1 at (SCR) page 650of the report speaking through Das, C.J

Hamilton's translation of Hedaya, Book XLIII at page 592 that it is

the duty of every free Mussalman arrived at the age of maturity, to

offer a sacrifice on the I'd Kurban, or festival of the sacrifice,

provided he be then possessed of Nisab and be not a traveller. The

sacrifice established for one person is a goat and that for seven a cow

or a camel.

 

It does not appear to be obligatory that a person must sacrifice

a cow. Once the religious purpose of Muslims consists of making

sacrifice of any animal which should be a healthy animal, on BakrI'd,

then slaughtering of cow is not the only way of carrying out that

sacrifice.Itis, therefore, obviously not an essential religious purpose

but an optional one.

 

 

 

Therefore, held that before the State can exercise the exemption

power under Section 12 in connection with slaughter of any

healthy animal covered by the Act, it must be shown that such exemption

is necessary to be granted for sub serving an essential religious,

medicinal or research purpose. If granting of such exemption is not

essential or necessary for effectuating such a purpose no such

exemption can be granted so as to bypass the thrust of the main

provisions of the Act.

 

For lifting the ban it should be shown that it is essential or

necessary for a Muslim to sacrifice a healthy cow on Bakr I'd day and if

such is the requirement of religious purpose then it may enable the

State in its wisdom to lift the ban at least on BakrI'd day. But that

is not the position. If any optional religious purpose enabling the

Muslim to sacrifice a healthy cow on BakrI'd is made the

subject-matter of an exemption under Section 12 of the Act then such

exemption would get granted for a purpose which is not an essential one

and to that extent the exemption would be treated to have been lightly

or cursorily granted. Such is not the scope and ambit of Section

12.

 

One submission was also noted that a person with six other members of

his family may afford to sacrifice a cow but may not be able to

afford to sacrifice seven goats, and it was observed that in such a

case there may be an economic compulsion although there was no

religious compulsion. In this connection, Das C.J. referred to the

historical background regarding cow slaughtering from the times of

Mughal emperors. Mughal Emperor Babur saw the wisdom of

prohibiting the slaughter of cows as and by way of religious sacrifice

and directed his son Humayun to follow this. Similarly, Emperors

Akbar, Jehangir and Ahmad Shah, it is said, prohibited cow

slaughter.

 

 

 

In the light of this historical background it was held that total

ban on cow slaughter did not offend Article 25(1) of the Constitution.

In view of this settled legal position it becomes obvious that if there

is no fundamental right of a Muslim to insist on slaughter of healthy

cow on BakrI'd day, it cannot be a valid ground for exemption by the

State under Sec. 12 which would in turn enable slaughtering of such

cows on Bakr I'd.

 

 

 

In this connection it is also necessary to consider Quareshi case1

which was heavily relied upon by the High Court. The total

ban on slaughter of cows even on BakrI'd day as imposed by Bihar

Legislature under Bihar Preservation and Improvementof Animals Act,

1955 was attacked as violation of the fundamental right of the

petitioners under Article 25 of the Constitution. Repelling this

contention the Constitution Bench held that even though Article 25(1)

granted to all persons the freedom to profess, practise and propagate

religion, as slaughter of cows on BakrI'd was not an essential

religious practice for Muslims, total ban on cow's slaughter on all

days including BakrI'd day would not be violative of Article 25(1).

 

 

 

Dear friends, legislation and judiciary did their job by enacting

prohibition on slaughter, restriction on transportation & even in

upholding and directing the Government to stop this heinous, most cruel

crime. BUT Scenario is totally different. We all have to wake up,

creat public movement and compel Government machinery to implement the

law of land in letter & spirit & tell them otherwise to face CONTEMPT.

 

 

 

Written in public interest by

 

 

 

Dr. S.K. Mittal B.Com (Hons) LLM

 

President : Karnataka goshala Mahasangh ®

 

President : Akhil Karnataka Gauraksha Sangh®

 

Vice Chairman: SPCA, Mysore

 

Member: Animal Welfare Board of India2006-07

 

Member: Kerala State Animal Welfare Board

 

 

 

(Helping hands arex more holier than speaking lips)