RATHORE, J. - (1.) THE main grievance of the petitioner society is that the respondents are not following provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2000 (for short, the Rules, 2000) as the provisions of Slaughter House Rules 2000 are mandatory in nature.
(2.) AFTER referring the mandatory provisions of the Rules 2000, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that in the area of Municipality of Jaipur or in the Panchayat area of Chainpura there is no slaughter house conforming to the requirement of the Rules 2000. And no person is having a valid licence for slaughtering. Slaughter house cannot be owned by the Municipal Corporation under the provisions of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 1959 (for short, Act of 1959) and also no slaughter house can be built on the land owned by a Municipal Corporation. Therefore, in view of the Directive Principles of State Policy which are contained in Articles 47 and 48 of the Constitution of India the state is required to take up proper steps to raise the level of nutrition, improve public health and for prohibition of slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle. It is further stated that in view of Article 51-A (g) of the Constitution of India it is the duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment and to have compassion for living creature. Killing of animals amounts to cruelty within the meaning of Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (for short the Act of 1960) and as such the public authority or the public officer cannot permit the slaughter of animals in the slaughter houses. It is also contended on behalf of the petitioner that the cows, bulls, bullocks etc. and milch and draught cattle and other animals are the backbone of our entire agricultural economy structure with the growing awareness for non-conventional energy sources like bio-gas the necessity of dung all these cattle/animals has achieved further importance in addition to its utility as manure and fuel for rural population. Article 48 of the Constitution of India gives power to take steps for prohibition of slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle. Section 2 of the Rajasthan Preservation of Certain Animals Act, 1950 gives power to penalize the persons for killing of bull, cow, ox, or calf and provides punishment of imprisonment upto ten years and section 3 provides punishment of imprisonment upto seven years for causing serious bodily injury to any bull, cow, ox or calf. Learned counsel for the petitioner in support of his submissions placed reliance on the judgment rendered by Hon'ble the Supreme Court in the cases Hasmattullah vs. State of Madhya Pradesh and Others reported in AIR 1996 Supreme Court 2076; Sachidanand Pandey and Another vs. State of West Bengal and Others reported in (1987) 2 Supreme Court Cases 295; Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra and Others vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others reported in 1987 Supreme Court 359 and Mohd. Hanif Quaresh and Others vs. State of Bihar reported in AIR 1958 SC 731.
(3.) HEARD rival submissions of the respective parties and perused the provisions of Rajasthan Bovine Animals (Protection of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995 as well as Rules 2000. We have perused the judgment passed by this court in the civil contempt petition No. 66/2004 dated 19. 3. 2004 by which the Division Bench of this Court constituted a committee to implement the order dated 2. 4. 93 and 7. 7. 95 and the committee so constituted comprising the Collector, Jaipur; the Superintendent of Police; the Chief Executive Officer, Municipal Corporation, Jaipur, the Secretary, Jaipur Development Authority and the President of Meat Merchant Association, submitted its report with regard to transfer of slaughter house from Jaipur city to village Chainpura in Khasra No. 227 and it is also given out on behalf of the Municipal Corporation that the slaughter house pursuant to the direction has been established. Now the grievance of the petitioner is with regard to cruelty to animals. We have also perused Section 11 of the Act of 1960 which deals with the cruelty towards animals and reads as under:- 11. Treating animals cruelly:- (1) If any person- (a) beats, kicks, overrides, overdrives, overloads, torture or otherwise treats any animal so as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering or causes or, being the owner permits, any animals to be so treated; or (b) willfully and unreasonably administers any injurious drug or injurious substance to any animal or willfully and unreasonably causes or attempts to cause any such drug or substance to be taken by (any animal); or (c) conveys or carries, whether in or upon any vehicle or not, any animal in such a manner or position as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering; or (d) being the owner of (any animal), fails to provide such animal with sufficient food, drink or shelter; (e) mutilates any animal or kills any animal (including stray dogs) by using the method of strychnine injections in the heart or in any other unnecessary) cruel manner, or) The offence of cruelty is punishable. Upon perusal of Rules 2000 by which no person shall slaughter any animal within the municipal area except in slaughter house recognized or licenced by concerned authority empowered under the law for the time being in force. ;