New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday slapped contempt of court notices on BJP-ruled Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana for their failure to implement its direction to check assaults in the name of cow vigilantism by appointing a nodal police officer in each district.

If the court finds the chief secretaries of the states guilty of contempt of court, they are liable for a maximum punishment of six months in jail.

A three-judge bench headed Chief Justice Dipak Misra issued notices to the states asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for non-implementation of its September 6, 2017, order to rein in cow vigilante groups. The court has sought replies from the states by April 3.

The contempt of court notice was issued on a petition filed by journalist Tushar Gandhi who alleged that 66 incidents of assaults in the name of cow vigilantism had taken place despite the court’s direction in September.

The bench, that included Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, heard senior counsel Indira Jaising for the petitioner and said that the presence of contemnors is not required on April 3.

In September, the court had directed the states to form a dedicated task force in each district to check cow vigilantism. The court had told the states to nominate a police officer, preferably of the rank of deputy superintendent of police, in each district to ensure that vigilante groups don’t “behave as if they are law unto themselves”.

The bench had also pulled up the Centre saying that it could not wash its hands off the constitutional responsibility to instruct the states to take steps to save innocents from mob fury.

The petitions had also sought a direction to the Central and state governments to pull down from social media all videos of violence uploaded by cow vigilante groups.