Rajyashree Chaudhuri vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 1830 Cal/2

                 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
                        (Civil Appellate Jurisdiction)
                                 Original Side

Present:

The Hon'ble Justice Arijit Banerjee
              &
The Hon'ble Justice Rai Chattopadhyay

                         G.A No. 1 of 2021
                                   In
                         WPO 372 of 2019
                       Rajyashree Chaudhuri
                                Versus
                 The State of West Bengal & Ors

the petitioner                          : Mr. Mainak Bose,
                                          Mr. Rajesh Upadhyay,
                                          Mr. Meghnad Dutta,
                                          Ms. Surabita Biswas,

                                        : Mr. T.M. Siddiqui,
For the State                             Mr. S. Bandopadhyay,
                                                       (Jr. Standing Counsel)
                                          Mr. N. Chatterjee,
                                          Mr. A. Nag

For KMC                                 : Mr. Alak Kr. Ghosh
                                          Ms. Era Ghose


Hearing concluded on                    : 27/06/2022


Judgment on                             : 05/07/2022
                                          2



Rai Chattopadhyay, J. :


1.      The writ petitioner has filed the present application for recalling of the

earlier order of this Court dated 26.02.2021 passed in WPO 372 of 2019

(Rajyashree Chudhuri vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors.)


2.      Records reveal that by dint of the order dated 27.04.2022 this Court

directed, on the prayer made on behalf of the writ petitioner/applicant that, the

present application should be treated as one for modification and/or

clarification of the aforesaid order dated 26.02.2021 passed in WPO 372 of

2019.


3.      It is further revealed that the substance of the writ petition which was

disposed of vide the aforesaid order dated 26.02.2021, was the grievance of the

petitioner regarding indiscriminate, uncontrolled, unauthorized, large scale

slaughtering of cattle including cows during the festival of Bakri-Eid, without

adhering to the laws laid down by the legislature and the courts including the

Hon'ble Supreme Court.


4.      In the application, the applicant has stated inter alia that in the

judgment and order dated 26.02.2021, the main issue in the writ petition has

not been taken into consideration and the previous orders of this Court as well

as of the Apex Court in connection with the same subject matter were not

followed. The applicant has further contended that the order dated 26.02.2021

in fact has rendered the previous orders passed by this Court as well as the
                                            3



Hon'ble Apex Court on the subject matter and also the provisions of West

Bengal Animal Slaughter (Control) Act, 1950, nugatory or otiose.            On such

grounds the application was taken out by the writ petitioner/appellant to pray

for the relief that the judgment and order dated 26.02.2021 in WPO 372 of

2019 be recalled and/or set aside.


5.    It is profitable to mention in a nutshell the relevant orders with which

this writ petitions/modification application may have some concern.


6.    In W.P No.328 of 2018 by dint of order dated 16.08.2018, this Court held

as follows:-


                     "The members of the public need to be made aware of the
               restrictions on slaughter of animals and the consequence that they
               are likely to face if they violate the provisions of the said Statute.
               Public advertisement that was issued in the newspapers last year
               for implementing this Court's order dated 1st September, 2017 was,
               in our opinion, not at all informative and did not serve the purpose
               for which such notification had been directed to be made. Hence, we
               indicate below certain points which must be highlighted in the public
               notice to be issued by the state respondents this year prior to

celebration of "Id-Ud-Zoha" (Bakri Id) :-

a) No person shall slaughter any animal thereby meaning (Bulls, Bullocks, Cows, Calves, Male and Female Buffalos, Buffalo Calves and Castrated Buffalos) unless he has obtained in respect thereof a certificate that the animal is fit for slaughter;

b) The Chairman of a Municipality or the Sabhapati of a Panchayat Samity and a Vetrinary Surgeon may issue a joint certificate 4 regarding fitness of an animal for slaughter, if they are both of the opinion to be recorded in writing that the animal is over 14 years of age for work or breeding or the animal has become

permanently incapacitated due to age, injury, deformity or any incurable disease.

c) In case of refusal to issue such certificate, the aggrieved person may prefer an appeal to the State Government within 15 days of communication of such refusal.

d) An animal, in respect of which a certificate has been issued, shall be slaughtered only in a Municipal Slaughter House or any other Slaughter House identified by the local administration.

e) Nobody shall resist inspection of any premises by a person authorized by the Chairman of a Municipality or the Sabhapati of a Panchayat Samity as the case may be or the Veterinary Surgeon for implementing the provisions of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950.

f) Whoever contravenes any of the above provisions of law, shall be punishable with imprisonment for upto six months or with fine upto Rs.1000/- or with both. All offences under the 1950 Act shall be cognizable offences. 5

g) The relevant decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and the Calcutta High Court are available in the official website of the Department being http://wbard.gov.in.

Public notice that will be issued shall be in the electronic and print media widely circulated in West Bengal in Bengali, Urdu, Hindu and English languages in terms of the earlier order of this Court dated 1st September, 2017. We trust and believe that the state respondents shall implement the order dated 1st September, 2017 and this order in their true spirit and intent and shall also ensure compliance of the provisions of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950."

7. Ultimately W.P No.328 of 2018 was disposed of by dint of the order dated

21.08.2018 when the court held inter alia that:-

"We modify our aforesaid order by permitting the State to issue public notice in the manner it was done last year. However, two

additional things must be mentioned in the said notice. Firstly, slaughter of animals including cows and buffalos in any open public place is strictly prohibited. Secondly, sacrifice of a cow is no part of the festival of ID-UZ-ZOHA and is not a religious requirement under Islam as held by the Supreme Court in the case of Mohd. Hanif Quareshi & Ors. Vs. The State of Bihar. So far as issuance of public notice for the next year before observance of IDUZ-ZOHA is concerned, such notice must be in line with the order that we had passed on 16th August, 2018 and must be published at least one month before the observance of the festival of ID-UZ-ZOHA. The State authorities shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the provisions of 1950 Act are implemented prior to observance of the festival of ID-UZZOHA next year. The State should also ensure that there is no slaughter of animals in any open public place"

8. All the respondents have contested the matter by filing their respective

affidavits-in-opposition stating inter alia that the Kolkata Municipal

Corporation in accordance with the provisions of 1950 Act has made all

possible endeavors to prohibit and/or control unlawful slaughter of animals,

steps have been taken to issue public notices by the State Government in

newspapers of vernacular and other languages for raising awareness of the

public at large.

9. After disposal of the said writ petition the present petition being WPO

372 of 2019 was filed to pray for orders upon the State to ensure

implementation of the provisions of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control

Act, 1950 and also various orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and

this Court, pertaining to slaughter of cattle, in particular cows and buffaloes,

during the festival of Bakri-Eid.

10. In that case, as per direction of the Court, the Commissioner of Kolkata

Municipal Corporation, in an affidavit filed on behalf of the Corporation,

delineated the measures they proposed to take in the matter which may be

reproduced as follows:-

"12. It is stated that in view of the aforementioned provisions of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950 and the KMC Act, 1980 as well as the aforementioned orders both of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and also of this Hon'ble Court, the Corporation proposes to manage the situation and to ensure the compliance of the provisions of the Act in the manner as follows :-

(a) The KMC has already identified places/locations for slaughtering of animals on the occasion of Id-ul-Zoha and the such locations/places identified for slaughtering of 3 animals in the KMC area shall be notified to all concerned through newspaper publication and official website of Kolkata Municipal Corporation in each year at least one month before the date of holding Id-ul-Zoha (vide section 482(2)(a) of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980.

(b) Since the KMC has 5 slaughter houses namely: (i) Chitpur Slaughter House (for sheep and goat). (ii) Landsdowne Slaughter House (for sheep and goat). (iii) Pig Slaughter House (for pig). (iv) Tangra Slaughter House (for sheep, goat, cow and bullock). (v) Tangra Modern Abattoir (for buffalo).

No place other than the said Municipal Slaughter Houses shall be permitted to be used a slaughter house. This does not however restrict the slaughter of any animal on the occasion of any religious festival or ceremony, in any place to be specified by the Municipal Commissioner by Public or Special Notice, as may be imposed.

(c) No person is permitted and shall be permitted, without or otherwise than with conformity, with a license from the Municipal Commissioner to carry on the trade of a butcher, fishmonger, poulterer or importer of flesh.

(d) No person is permitted and shall be permitted to sell or expose for sale any flesh obtained from an animal unless the skinned carcass of the animal is stamped in a particular manner as a token of the fact that the animal has been slaughtered in a municipal or licensed slaughter house.

(e) The officers/employees concerned of the KMC exercise powers to inspect or examine any food or drug or any utensil or vessel used for preparing or storing any such food or drug. If on inspection or examined of any such food or drug any contravention of the provisions of the Act is detected, the persons found to have contravened the provision is prosecuted in accordance with law apart from seizure of the food/drugs etc.

(f) The KMC and its officials exercise the powers to inspect the places where unlawful slaughter of animals is suspected and the animal or carcass of such animal or such flesh are seized if contravention of the provisions is found.

(g) Slaughtering of animal is permitted and shall be permitted in Municipal slaughter houses only after the grant of certificate to the effect that the animal is fit slaughter."

11. It is found from the Court's order dated 26.02.2021 that the Kolkata

Municipal Corporation was directed to strictly enforce the above stated

measures to restrict any unauthorized or uncontrolled slaughtering of cattle

including cows. The court further directed that if the Corporation authorities

find any person violating the laws of the land with regard to slaughtering cattle

including cows and/or exhibiting for sale flesh of slaughtered cattle and/or

selling cattle meat or acting in breach of any restriction imposed by the

Corporation, then the Corporation authorities shall take immediate steps to

bring such violators to book in accordance with law including, if necessary, by

taking assistance of the police.

12. With the direction as above W.P.O No.372 of 2019 was disposed of. The

present application for modification arises mainly due to the apprehension of

the applicant that the order dated 26.02.2021 disposing of WPO 372 of 2019

may be interpreted by the respondent authorities in a way to make the orders

in the previous writ petition, that is, orders dated 16.08.2018, 17.08.2018,

21.08.2018 in W.P No.328 of 2018 inoperative, ineffective and to stand

superseded.

13. By filing the present modification application the writ petitioner/applicant

wants implementation of the orders passed in W.P No.328 of 2018 as

mentioned above.

14. Records of the case and the respective submission of the parties satisfy this

Court about prompt due and timely compliance of the Court's order so far as

publication of general notice by the respondent municipal authority and the

State in both the print and visual media, is concerned. It is found that due

notice covering all necessary and required elements therein have been

published in well circulated vernacular as well as English newspapers of the

State and also in visual media. Needless to mention that the necessity for such

news paper and other publication are for wide circulation of the relevant laws

and rules to the public at large in order to raise awareness amongst them and

also to get it circulated to as many citizens of the State as possible so that the

same may act as a deterrent in the minds of people, so far as animal

slaughtering is concerned. The way and manner in which the respondent

municipal authority and the State have acted in circulating the general notice,

the said purpose appears to have been fulfilled and Court's order duly

complied.

15. The State has filed two affidavits, affirmed on May 19, 2022 and June 22,

2022, respectively. Annexed to the said affidavits are copies of notices

published in various newspapers to make the members of the public aware of

the restrictions on slaughtering of animals imposed by statutes and orders of

Court. We are of the view that the State and the Municipal Authorities have

substantially complied with the orders of this Court.

16. On the basis of the aforesaid discussion we find that no further direction

would be necessary upon the respondent corporation insofar as it continues

the exercise of publication of such exhaustive general notice, as before, in well

circulated newspapers in vernacular as well as other languages and also in

visual media. Needless to mention that we have not been able to find any

cogent ground justifying applicant's plea that the order dated 26.02.2021

delivered in WPO 372 of 2019 may by any way tantamount to superseding the

orders passed in W.P No.328 of 2018 including the order dated 21.08.2018.

However, in any event we clarify that the order dated 26.02.2021 in no manner

supersedes or affects the validity of the orders passed by this Court in W.P No.

328 of 2018 including the order dated 21.08.2018. Such orders remain in full

force and must be given effect to by the State and Municipal Authorities in

their true spirit and intent.

17. We also emphasize that the restrictions imposed by law including the

orders of Court on animal slaughter, must also be given due publicity through

the audio-visual media like television. It has been noticed that the State

Government uses the Mobile Phone including SMS (Short Message Service) to

spread messages of public importance. The Government should explore that

avenue also to make the general people aware of the restrictions on slaughter

of animals during Bakri-Eid and in general.

18. With the direction as above G.A. No.1 of 2021 is disposed of.

19. There will be no order as to costs.

20. Urgent certified website copies of this judgment, if applied for, be supplied

to the parties subject to compliance with all the requisite formalities.

(Rai Chattopadhyay, J.)

I agree.

(Arijit Banerjee, J.)