Supreme court will hear petition to modify beef rules order

New Delhi: The Supreme court on Friday agreed to hear an application filed by animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi seeking clarification of its July 11 order staying Centre’s two notifications banning cattle sale for slaughter in live stock markets.

A bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and justice D.Y. Chandrachud agreed to list the application after hearing senior counsel V.Giri and Siddharth Luthra when it was brought to notice that the Madurai Bench of the Madras high court had stayed only one rule and not as was projected in the hearing on July 11.

On July 11, the apex co-urt had extended for the whole country the high court’s stay of Centre’s two notifications — Prev-ention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Live-stock Markets) Rules and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (care and maintenance of case property animals) Rules 2017. 

It was submitted that only Rule 22 b (iii) and 22 (e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules, 2017 had been challenged before the Madurai Bench of the high court, which granted interim stay. The other rule was not at all challenged in the high court.