Diplomatic Correspondent: A top Indian court has passed orders, if any cow is slaughtered secretly inside the home without offending the anti-cow-slaughtering sentiments of the majority Hindus, it is not to be deemed as the violation of rule and order.

This verdict has reflected humane attitude towards humans, some lawyers said.

They think, if human’s desire and needs are enchained, then mental peace, sense of respect and fellow-feelings get banished and that society is deprived of warmth of heart for one another.

Through this order, the Court has showed that human’s basic need and controlled will should not be kept in chain.   

To be mentioned that cows are considered as sacred animal by many Hindus and their being slaughtered is banned in the region and many Indian states.

The Allahabad High Court in the Uttar Pradesh state came up with the statement in a recent judgement, which referred to a live law report published on Thursday.

Amid growing concern over slaughtering cows in India, a top court has ruled that doing so in in the secrecy of one’s home is not a matter involving public order.

The court made the observation and quashed the detention of three men under the National Security Act in an alleged cow slaughter case in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district.

Three men were arrested in July 2020, after the Sitapur Police raided their house while they were cutting beef with the purpose of selling the meat.

Two of the men – Parvez and Irfan – were arrested on the spot, while three others – Rahmatullah, Karim and Rafi – fled. They were later arrested and charged with sections of the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act and Criminal Law Amendment Act.

The superintendent of police and station house officer of Sitapur then submitted to the district magistrate that the release of the accused on bail might cause disruption of public order. They sought the detention of Irfan, Parvez and Rahamatullah under the National Security Act, which was granted by the district court on August 14, 2020.

While seeking detention under NSA, the state of Uttar Pradesh had submitted that the incident had disturbed communal amity in the area as people from the Hindu community had gathered near the house of the accused.

“An atmosphere of fear and terror was generated, public order was disturbed and the crowd became belligerent,” the public prosecutor submitted.

The accused then filed a petition seeking to quash the detention under NSA. Their counsel argued that since the accused were in the custody of the police authorities, “there was no need to direct their preventive detention merely on the basis of a solitary incident of cutting beef…in the secrecy of their home”, The Indian Express reported.

The Allahabad High Court bench of Justices Ramesh Sinha and Saroj Yadav observed that the question of disrupting public order depends on whether the alleged act was performed in public in an aggressive manner. In this case, the court noted that the accused were slaughtering the cow at 5.30 am inside their home.

In the verdict the Court said, public order is a condition characterized by the lack of widespread criminal and political violence, such as kidnapping, murder, riots, arson, and intimidation against targeted groups or individuals

“We also do not know whether the cause was poverty, lack of employment or hunger, which may have compelled the petitioners and the other co-accused to take such a step,” the court said.

Cows are considered sacred by many Hindus and their slaughter is banned in the region and many Indian states. In early July, the Assam authorities finalized a bill to restrict the sale of beef in areas dominated by non-beef consuming communities and within a 5-km radius of temples.

In the last decade, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has passed laws based on the belief in the holy status of cows.

These laws protect cattle from being eaten or sold, and uphold the belief in the animal’s divine powers. The government even set up a National Cow Commission for the purpose. At least 20 states have banned beef consumption, or regulate the sale of cows.

Since Modi came to power, Hindu nationalist mobs have killed dozens in the name of protecting cows. The victims were usually Muslims or other minorities, and the killers often got away with their crimes.