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TMI Blog1958 (4) TMI 110X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a total ban on the trade and business of the petitioners who kill only cattle. Total prohibition of a trade which is not immoral or obnoxious can never be reasonable restriction within the meaning of el. (6) of Art. 19. Chintaman Rao v. The State of Madhya Pradesh, ([1950] S.C.R. 759 at 765); R.M. Sheshadri v. The District Magistrate ( [1955] 1 S.C.R. 686 at 689, 690); Cooverjee B. Bharucha v. The Excise Commis- sioner, ( [1954] S.C.R. 873); Rashid Ahmed. The Municipal Board, Kairana, ([1950] S.C.R. 566). Total ban on the slaughter of cattle is not in the interests of the general public. Animal husbandry will suffer by a total ban. There is shortage of fodder and pasture in the country and the useless and uneconomic cattle will deprive the useful cattle of these things. Setting up of Gosadans for the uneconomic cattle will be a tremendous waste of public money. [Counsel referred to various official reports in this connection.] The impugned Acts create an odious discrimination between butchers and persons dealing solely in cows, bulls, etc., and those dealing in sheep and goats, and offend Art. 14. These Acts which single out the petitioners' community which kills only cows, bul ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... K. Daphtary, Solicitor-General of India, with Mahabir- Prasad, Advocate-General of Bihar and S. P. Varma (respondent in Petitions Nos. 58, 83 and 84 of 1956), and with R. H. Dhebar, for the State of Bombay (respondent in Petition No. 117 of 1956). The legislature has thought fit that slaughter of cattle should be stopped in the inter states of animal husbandry and public policy. It is not for the Court to say that such a policy should not have been adopted. Both on the question of policy at-id the extent of the restrictions the Court should interfere only if it is convinced that in no view of the matter could the restrictions be reasonable. There are two conflicting opinions on this controversial matter, i. e., whether there should be total ban or only partial ban. In such a case the opinion of the legislators must prevail and the Court should not interfere where there is controversy as to facts. State of -Madras v. V. G. Rao, ([1952] S. C. R. 597 at 606); The State of Bihar v. Maharajadhiraja Sir Kameshwar Singh, ([1952] S. C. R. 889 at 941); Arumugham v. State of Madras, (I. L. R. [1953] Mad. 937). Unless it can be said that the restrictions have no bearing on the object sought t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... violate Art. 25. Article 25 of our Constitution is similar to Art. 8 of the Irish Constitution. There is no religious compulsion on the Mussalmans to sacrifice a cow on Bakr Id Day. Thakurdas Bhargava, as amicus curiae. The directive principles of State policy in Part IV of the Constitution are superior to fundamental rights and the enactments which are in pursuance of the directions given by Art. 48 are valid and constitutional even though they may infringe the fundamental rights of the petitioners. The total ban on cow slaughter in the impugned Acts is justified and is in the interests of the general public. The facts and figures given in the official reports are inaccurate, and there is no real shortage of fodder or pasture land. There is shortage of milk in the country and it is essential to protect the cow. The bullock takes the largest share in meeting the power requirement for our agricultural production. Cow dung manure contributes about rupees 63 crores per year to our national income. H.J. Umrigar, in reply. Frank Anthony, also replied. 1958. April 23. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DAS C. J.-These 12 petitions under Art. 32 of our ,Constitution ra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Kasais is considerable. Petitioner No. 3 is the owner of a tanning factory and Petitioner No. 4 is a gut merchant, while Petitioner No. 5 is the General Secretary of Bihar State Jamiatul Quraish. In petition No. 83 there are 180 petitioners residing at different places in the State of Bihar who are all Muslims whose occupation is that of Kasais or cattle dealers or exporters of hides. In Petition No. 84 there are 170 petitioners all residents of Patna District who are also Muslims belonging to the Quraishi community and who carry on business as Kasais or dealers of cattle. All the petitioners in these three petitions are citizens of India. The Bill, which was eventually passed as the Bihar Act, was published in the Bihar Gazette on April 20, 1953. The scheme of the Bill, as originally drafted, was, it is said, to put a total ban only on the slaughter of cows and calves of cows below three years of age. The Bill was sent to a Select Committee and its scope appears to have been considerably enlarged, as will be seen presently. The Bill, as eventually passed by the Bihar Legislature, received the assent of the Governor on December 8, 1.955, and was published in the Official Gazett ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... State of Bombay. In consequence of such re-organisation of the States the State of Bombay has had to be substituted for the respondent State of Madhya Pradesh in the first five petitions and to be added in the sixth petition, for a part of the district in which the petitioners resided had been so transferred, while the State of Madhya Pradesh continues to be the respondent in the seventh petition.By these petitions the petitioners %II of whom are citizens Of India, challenge the validity of the C. P. and Berar Animal Preservation Act, 1949 (C. P. and Berar Lll of 1949), as subsequently amended. In order to appreciate the arguments advanced for and against the constitutional validity of the three impugned Acts it will be necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of the Constitution under or pursuant to which they have been made. Reference must first be made to Art. 48 which will be found in Chapter IV of the Constitution which enshrines what are called the directive principles of )State policy. Under Art. 37 these directive principles are not enforceable by any court of law but are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and are to be applied by the State in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e words in particular , two special aspects of the preceding general directive for organising agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines. Whether the last two directives are ancillary to the first as contended for by learned counsel for the peti- tioners or are separate and independent items of directives as claimed by counsel on the other side, the directive for taking steps for preventing the slaughter of the animals is quite explicit and positive and contemplates a ban on the slaughter of the several categories of animals specified therein, namely, cows and calves and other cattle which answer the description of milch or draught cattle. The protection recommended by this part of the directive is, in our opinion, confined only to cows and calves and to those animals which are presently or potentially capable of yielding milk or of doing work as draught cattle but does not, from the very nature of the purpose for which it is obviously recommended, extend to cattle which at one time were milch or draught cattle but which have ceased to be such. It is pursuant to these directive principles and in exercise of the powers conferred by Arts. 245 and 246 of the Co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ntrary, no person shall slaughter a cow, the calf of a cow, a bull or a bullock; Provided that the State Government may, by general or special order and subject to such conditions as it may think fit to impose, allow the slaughter of any such animal for any medicinal or research purposes. Section 4 provides for penalties for contravention or attempted contravention or abetment of contravention of any of the provisions of s. 3. The remaining provision; in the following three chapters are not material for our present purpose. It will be noticed that the words bull , bullock , calf and cow have been defined in cls. (c), (d), (e) and (g) of s. 2 as belonging to the species of bovine cattle. The expression species of bovine cattle is wide enough to in-elude and does in ordinary parlance include buffaloes,(male, or female adults or calves). Therefore, the corresponding categories of buffaloes, namely, buffalo bulls, buffalo bullocks, buffalo calves and she-buffaloes must be taken as included in the four defined categories of the species of bovine cattle and as such within the prohibition embodied in s. 3 of the Act. It is to be, noted, however, that the allegation ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or any usage or custom to the contrary, no person shall slaughter or cause to be slaughtered or offer or cause to be offered for slaughter any cow in any place in Uttar Pradesh. Two exceptions are made by s. 4 in respect of cows suffering from contagious or infectious disease or which is subjected to experimentation in the interest of medical or public health research. Section 5 prohibits the sale or transport of beef or beef products in any form except for medicinal purposes and subject to' the provisions of the exception therein mentioned. Section 6, on which counsel for the State relies, provides for the establishment, by the State Government or by any local authority wherever so directed by the State Government, of institutions as may be necessary for taking care of uneconomic cows. Under s. 7 the State Government may levy such charges or fees, as may be prescribed for keeping uneconomic cows in the institutions. Section 8 provides for punishment for contravention of the provisions of ss. 3, 4 and 5. Section 9 makes the offences created by the Act cognisable and non-bailable. Section 10 giv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 949, a new definition of cow as including a male or female calf of a cow, bull, bullock or heifer and a new schedule specifying only (1) cows, (2) male and female buffaloes and (3) buffalo calves was substituted for the original schedule to the Act. Shortly put the position in Madhya Pradesh has been this: while under the C. P. and Berar Animal Preservation Act, 1949, as it originally stood, the slaughter of all categories of animals mentioned in the original schedule were only controlled by the requirement of a certificate from the appropriate authority before the actual slaughter, by the amending Act XXIII of 1951, a total ban was imposed on the slaughter of cows which was then defined as including only a female calf of a cow and the slaughter of all other categories of animals coming within the original schedule was controlled and finally after the amending Act X of 1956, there is now a total ban on the slaughter of cows which by the new definition includes a male or female calf of a cow, bull, bullock or heifer so that the male and female buffaloes and buffalo calves (male and female) can still be slaughtered but on certificate issued by the proper authorities menti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent Committee, Sarvadeshik Arya pratinidhi Sabha and M. P. Gorakshan Sangh put in petitions for leave to intervene in these proceedings. Under Order XLI, rule 2, of' the Supreme Court Rules intervention is permitted only to the Attorney- General of India or the Advocates General for the States. There is no other express provision for permitting a third party to intervene in the proceedings before this Court. In practice, however, this Court, in exercise of its inherent powers, allows a third party to intervene when such third party is a party to some proceedings in this Court or in the High Courts where the same, or similar questions are in issue, for the decision of this Court will conclude the case of that party. In the present case, however, the peti- tioners for intervention are not parties to any proceedings and we did not think it right to permit them formally to intervene in these proceedings; but in view of the importance of the questions involved in these proceedings we have heard Pandit Thakurdas Bhargava, who was instructed by one of these petitioners for intervention, as amicus curiae. We are deeply indebted to all learned counsel appealing for the parties and to Pa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion . After referring to the provisions of el. (2) which lays down certain exceptions which are not material for our present purpose this Court has, in Ratilal Panachand Gandhi v. The State of Bombay (1) explained the meaning and scope of this article thus: Thus, subject to the restrictions which this article imposes, every person has a fundamental right under our Constitution not merely to entertain such religious belief as may be approved of by his judgment or conscience but to exhibit hisbelief and ideas in such overt acts as are enjoinedor sanctioned by his religion and further to propagatehis religious views for the edification of others. Itis immaterial also whether the propagation is made by a person in his individual capacity or on behalf of any church or institution. The free exercise of religion by which is meant the performance of outward acts in pursuance of relgious belief, is, as stated above, subject to State regulation imposed to secure order, public health and morals of the people. What then, we inquire, are the materials placed before us to substantiate the claim that the sacrifice of a cow ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of an option seems to run counter to the notion of an obligatory duty. It is, however, pointed out that a person with six other members of his family may afford to sacrifice a cow but may not be able to afford to sacrifice seven goats. So there may be an economic compulsion although there is no religious compulsion. It is also pointed out that from time immemorial the Indian Mussalmans have been sacrificing cows and this practice, if not enjoined, is certainly sanctioned by, their religion and it amounts to their practice of religion protected by Art. 25. While the petitioners claim that the sacrifice of a cow is essential, the State denies the obligatory nature of the religious practice. The fact, emphasised by the respondents, cannot be disputed, namely, that many Mussalmans do not sacrifice a cow on the Bakr Id Day. It is part of the known history of India that the Moghul Emperor Babar saw the wisdom of prohibiting the slaughter of cows as and by way of religious sacrifice and directed his son Humayun to follow this example. Similarly Emperors Akbar, Jehangir, and Ahmad Shah, it is said, prohibited cow slaughter. Nawab Hyder Ali of Mysore made cow slaughter an offence punish ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t of the group and (ii) such differentia must have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the statute in question. The classification, it has been held, may be founded on different bases, namely, geographical, or according to objects or occupations or the like and what is necessary is that there must be a nexus between the basis of' classification and the object of the Act under consideration. The pronouncements of this Court further establish, amongst other things, that there is always a presumption in favour of the constitutionality of an enactment and that the burden is upon him, who attacks it, to show that there has been a clear violation of the constitutional principles. The courts, it is accepted, must presume that the legislature understands and correctly appreciates the needs of its own people, that its laws are directed to problems made manifest by experience and that its discriminations are based on adequate grounds. It must be borne in mind that the legislature is free to recognise degrees of harm and may confine its restrictions to those cases where the need is deemed to be the clearest and finally that in order to sustain the presumption of con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gned Acts, therefore, have adopted a classification on sound and intelligible basis and can quite clearly stand the test laid down in the decisions of this Court. Whatever objections there may be against the validity of the impugned Acts the -denial of equal protection of the laws does not, prima facie, appear to us to be one of them. In any case, bearing in mind the presumption of constitutionality attaching to all enactments founded on the recognition by the court of the fact that the legislature correctly appreciates the needs of its own people there appears to be no escape from the conclusion that the petitioners have not discharged the onus that was on them and the challenge under Art. 14 cannot, therefore, prevail. Learned counsel for the petitioners then take their final stand on Art. 19(1)(g). Immediately learned counsel for the respondents counter the charge by saying that Art. 19(1)(g) can hit only the law which purports to directly violate its provisions. The impugned Acts, we are reminded, have been made in implementation of the directive principles laid down in Art. 48 and are laws with respect to matters set forth in entry 15 of List II and it is emphasised that th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts of free men. It was, therefore, considered that the primary and direct object of the Preventive Detention Act, 1950, being, inter alia, to secure the security of the State and maintenance of law and order, its impact on the fundamental rights was indirect and, therefore, the Act could not be challenged for breach of the fundamental rights under Art. 19(1). The position in the cases now before us is quite different. The last part of the directive principles embodied in Art. 48 require the State to take steps for prohibiting the slaughter of the specified animals and this directive can only be carried out by prohibiting the petitioners and other butchers (Kasais) from. slaugh- tering them. There can be no mistake about the directness of these legislations vis-a-vis the petitioners and other butchers and the effect of these legislations on their rights is direct and instantaneous as soon as they are brought into force. The title of the U. P. Act (1) [1951]1 S.C.R. 451, 456-457. does not even attempt to conceal the directness of its impact on the butchers of Uttar Pradesh. The argument of learned counsel for the respondents on this point cannot be accepted and the question of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ubt, protects the operation of the existing laws in so far as they impose and do not prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the interest of the general public, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by Art. 19(1)(g). But restrictions, they say, cannot extend to total prohibition and reference is made to the observations to be found in some of the decisions of this Court. The contention is that the State may regulate but cannot annihilate a business which a citizen has a right to carry on. The rival contention is thus formulated: The dictionary meaning of the word butcher is slaughterer of animals for food, dealer in meat . It is one of the three well- known occupations included in the homely phrase, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker . The expression butcher , as popularly understood now, has no reference to any particular animal. The term is now applicable to any person who slaughters any animal for food. Taken in this larger sense, the facts alleged in the petitions do not, according to learned counsel for the respondents, indicate that any of the impugned Acts has the effect of completely stopping the petitioners' ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... goods business. The position, they say, is the same in the case of butchers (Kasais). The butchers' business, they point out, has several segments and a ban on one segment may be complete prohibition of the activities of that segment, for restriction is complete as far as it extends, but in the larger context of the butchers' business such a ban, they submit, operates only as a restriction. Far less, it is said can a dealer in hides, complain that the ban imposed on the slaughter of cattle and buffaloes prevent him from, carrying on his, business as a hide merchant, for he call still carry on his business in ,fallen hides. Indeed the statistics collected in the Report of Marketing of Hides in India, Second Edition, p.9, show that the percentage of fallen hides to the total cattle population is 8.8 whereas the percentage of slaughtered hides to the total cattle population is 1.4. The. same argument has been advanced regarding gut merchants and other dealers in subsidiary things. It is not necessary for us to dilate upon or to express any opinion on the rival contentions as abstract pro. positions . The matter has to be dealt with objectively. What do the Acts actually provid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... viously it is left to the court, in case of dispute, to determine the reasonableness of the restrictions imposed by the law. In determining that question the court, we conceive, cannot proceed on a general notion of what is reasonable in the abstract or even on a consideration of what is reasonable from the point of view of the person or persons on whom the restrictions are imposed. The right conferred by sub-cl. (g) is expressed in general language and if there had been no qualifying provision like el. (6), the right so conferred would have been an absolute one. To the person who has this right any restriction will be irksome and may well be regarded by him as unreasonable. But the question cannot be decided on that basis. What the court has to do is to consider whether the restrictions imposed are reasonable in the interests of the general public. In the State of Madras v. V. 0. Row (3) this court has laid down the test of reasonableness in the following terms: It is important in this context to bear in mind that the test of reasonableness, wherever prescribed, should be applied to each individual statute impugned and no abstract standard, or general pattern, of reason- able ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... able to the fact that the climate in that distant past was extremely cold and the Vedic Aryans had been a pastoral people before they settled down as agriculturists. In Rg. Vedic times goats, sheep, cows, buffaloes and even horses were slaughtered for food and for religious sacrifice and their flesh used to be offered to the Gods. Agni is called the eater of ox or cow in Rg. Veda (VIII. 43, 11). The staying of a great ox (Mahoksa) or a great Goat (Mahaja) for the entertainment of a distinguished guest has been enjoined in the Satapatha Brahmana (111. 4. 1-2). Yagnavalkya also expresses similar view (Vaj 1. 109). An interesting account of those early days will be found in Rg. Vedic Culture by Dr. A. C. Das, Ch. 5, pp. 203-5, and in the History of Dharmasastras (Vol. II-, Part II) by P. V. Kane at pp. 772-773. Though the custom of slaughtering of cows and bulls prevailed during the Vedic period, nevertheless, even in the Rg. Vedic times there seems to have grown up a revulsion of feeling against the custom. The cow gradually came to acquire a special Sanctity and was called Aghnya (not to be slain). There was a school of thinkers amongst the Rsis, who set their face again ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of their life,. The value of cattle (Pasu)was, therefore, very great with the early Rg. Vedic Aryans. The ancient Romans also used the word pecus or pecu (pasu) in the sense of wealth or money. The English words, Pecuniary and impecunious , are derived from the Latin root pecus or pecu, originally meaning cattle. The possession of cattle in those days denoted wealth and a man was considered rich or poor according to the large or small number of cattle that he owned. In the Ramayana King Janaka's wealth was described by reference to the large number of herds that he owned. It appears that the cow was gradually raised to the status of divinity. Kautilya's Arthasastra has a special chapter (Ch. XXIX) dealing with the superintendent of cows and the duties of the owner of cows are also referred to in Ch. XI of Hindu Law in its sources by Ganga Nath Jha. There can be no gainsaying the fact that the Hindus in general hold the cow in great reverence and the idea of the, slaughter of cows for food is repugnant to their notions and this sentiment has in the past even led to communal riots. It is also a fact that after the recent partition of the country this agitation again ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dominate and are about 3/4 of the total. For agricultural purposes male cattle are generally preferred for their comparative lightness and active nature. Of the total 39,57,000 unserviceable heads of cattle in India there were 5,35,000 in Bihar, 1,55,000 in Madhya Pradesh and 1,84,000 in Uttar Pradesh. Of the total 7,81,000 unserviceable buffaloes there were 1,20,000 in Bihar, 15,000 in Madhya Pradesh and 28,000 in Uttar Pradesh. Although, according to the census figures given above, our cattle wealth is, in number, the highest in the world the milk production is perhaps the lowest. According to the figures given in the Second Five Year Plan, at the beginning of the First Five Year Plan the milk output was over 1,80,00,000 ton,;. The average yield of milk per cow in India was 413 pounds which is about the lowest of any country in the world as against 8,000 pounds in the Netherlands, 7,000 pounds in Australia, 6,000 pounds in Sweden and 5,000 pounds in the U.S.A. Out of the total yield she-buffaloes give 54% while cows give only 42%. Buffalo milk is richer in fat, 6 to 7% as compared to 4.5% of fat in the cow's milk,. But cows milk is richer in other important content.,, and is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... buffaloes which produce 54% of the total milk supply of our country would obviously have deserved a far greater preference over the cows in our estimation. But, as pointed out by Pandit Thakurdas Bhargava, there is another important consideration which is perhaps more important from the standpoint of human food supply. It is the bullock that takes the largest share in meeting the power requirements for our agricultural production. Based perhaps on age old experience Indian agriculturists habitually prefer a cow bullock to a buffalo bullock. As a result of the evolutionary process of trial and error, we find in this country about 10 cow bullocks for every buffalo bullock as is shown by the 1951 census figures set out above. If this relative distribution is considered unavoidable for our crop production, we may expect no change in the existing ratio in the population of the two species unless a revolution can be brought about in our methods and practice of land cultivation. According to the Report on the Marketing of Cattle in India, 1956, p. 22, animals are utilised in India under four heads:(1) used for cultivating6,54,22,000 (2) used for carting in urban areas-11,80,000 (3) used a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... der cultivation. It follows, therefore, that our working animals are perhaps just about sufficient to supply the power to keep our agricultural operations up to the necessary standard, but the demand for food is growing and more lands will have to be brought under cultivation and we shall require a far large number of these animals. There are in India, 6,50,000 breeding bulls and 3,10,000 breeding buffaloes. There are 4,63,40,000 breeding cows and 2,09,90,000 breeding buffaloes. According to the First Five Year Plan, 1). 274, approximately 750 farm bred bulls of known pedigree are distributed annually by the Government in different States for developing and improving the draught as well as the milch breeds. Besides there are some approved bulls belonging to private owners. But the existing number of private bulls meets less than 0. 15% of the total requirements of the country. According to the Report on the Marketing of Cattle in India, p. 9, service bulls number approximately 6,52,000 or about 0.4% of the total cattle in the country. In the absence of an arrangement to castrate or remove the inferior bulls before a pedigree bull is located in an area, the progeny of the pedigre ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iciency and breed of our Cattle population must be considerably improved. To attain the above objectives we must devote greater attention to the preservation, protection and improvement of the stock and organise our agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines. We have, therefore, to examine the provisions of the impugned Acts and ascertain whether they help in achieving the said objectives, or are calculated to hinder that process. In that context all the considerations above alluded to must enter the judicial verdict and if the impugned Acts further the aforesaid purpose then only can the restrictions imposed by the impugned Acts be said to be reasonable in the interest of the general public. We turn now to the other side of the picture. In examining the conspectus of the problem the Court cannot overlook the fact, emphasised in the petition, that the petitioners and a very large number of similarly situated persons, even if their number does not come up to the figure mentioned in the petition, are butchers (Kasais) by occupation and make an income of about ₹ 150 to ₹ 200 per month and that they will be seriously affected, if not completely throw ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 0 buffaloes. These figures indicate that beef and buffalo flesh are used for food by a large section of the people in India. It is wellknown that poorer sections of Muslims, Christians and members of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes consume beef and buffalo flesh. There is also a limited demand for beef by the foreign population. Buffaloes yield comparatively coarse and tough meat of inferior quality and consequently the demand for beef is greater than that for buffalo flesh. Further the price of the buffalo flesh is 20 to 40% less than that of beef. The prices of beef and buffalo meat are much cheaper than that of mutton or goat's meat and consequently beef and buffalo flesh come within the reach of the poorer people perhaps for a day or two in the week. According to the figures given in the Report of the Expert Committee at 1). 12, in 1938 in -Bombay the prices were ₹ 0-3-9 per pound of beef, ₹ 0-2-0 per pound of buffalo flesh and ₹ 0-5-6 for mutton and goats' flesh. In 1950 these prices went up respectively to ₹ 0-12-0, ₹ 0-11-0 and ₹ 1-3-0. The comparatively low prices of beef, and buffalo flesh, which are nearly half of that of mut ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Pradesh 16,000 male and 12,000 female. According, to the First Five Year Plan, p. 273, the overall estimates made by the Cattle Utilisation Committee show that about 10 % of the cattle population in India or roughly 1,14,00,000 adults were unserviceable or unproductive. The Report of the Cattle Preservation and Development Committee also put the figure of old, decrepit and unproductive cattle at 10% of the total population. Pandit Thakurdas Bhargava does not accept the correctness of these figures. It is difficult to find one's way out of the labyrinth of figures and it will be futile for us to attempt to come to a figure of unserviceable agricultural animals which may even be approximately correct. For our purpose it will suffice to say that there is a fairly large number of cattle and buffaloes which are not of any use for breeding or working purposes. The position may be accepted as correctly summed up at p. 274 of the First Five Year Plan where it is stated, inter alia, that there is a deficiency of good milch cows and working bullocks and that there exists a surplus of useless or inefficient animals. The presence of a large number of useless and inefficient cattle in th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... out. Then begins a: process of scaling down, for the above- scale is, considered to be somewhat lavish for our low sized village cattle. The Indian standard, according to this report, will, require much less and the figures, according to Indian standards, are next set out. Evidently these, figures also, show a, very big gap between, requirements and the available, quantities. So the report says that event, this may, be reduced and -what is significantly described as the critical limit is then set out. It is not quite intelligible why an Indian cow should not require even an Indian standard of ration. Be that as it may, even for the critical limit the quantity available is far too short. The gap between the critical limit and what is available is respectively 1,80,00,000 tons of dry matter, 15,00,000 tons of protein and 28,61,70,00,000 therms. It is conceded that the requirements of mixed population of 3,27,63,327 heads of animals may be taken as representing 2,71,30,000 adult units and with the present available supply of straw, green feed and concentrates these adult units cannot be fully fed even on the critical limit standard. The available supply can support only 1,59,2 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... servants' quarters is shown at ₹ 32,000 and the recurring cost, namely, salary of manager, stock-man, chaukidars. and others on the establishment together with allowances is shown at ₹ 13,000 per year and it is hoped that a sum of ₹ 5,000 will be derived from the sale of hides, manure, etc. According to the Report of the Expert Committee each Gosadhan housing 2,000 heads of cattle would have to have 4,000 acres of land which would permit of a rotational and controlled grazing practice and provision has to be made for the surplus grass during the rainy season to be preserved for the scarcity months. There should be thatched sheds for protection of the cattle against weather and wild animals and fodder is to be cultivated on a small part of the 4,000 acres. By the end of 1954, when the Report of the Expert Committee came to be made, the cost had gone up from what they were in 1948 when the Cattle Preservation and Development Committee Report had been made. The estimated cost, according to the Report of the Expert Committee, of establishing and running of a Gosadan for 2,000 heads of cattle is shown as: nonrecurring ₹ 50,000, and recurring ₹ 25,000 pe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... will at once see that the segregating of the cattle in the concentration camp will only be to leave them to a fate of slow death. The very idea that these animals should eke out their livelihood by grazing and that Gosadans should be located in out of the way places, appeared to the authors of the Memorandum on Human Nutrition vis-a-vis Animal Nutrition at p. 47, to belie the humanitarian considerations on the basis of which the scheme was conceived. Theory apart, the Gosadan scheme has 'been tried and the result is not at all encouraging. The First Five Year Plan, obviously as an experimental measure, provided for the establishment of 160 Gosadans each housing 2,000 heads of cattle, at a cost of about ₹ 97,00,000. The Planning Commission recognised that these measures would touch only the fringe of the problem and the success of the movement would depend on the amount of public support, especially from charitable institutions that it received. The sheer weight of the figures of expenses compelled the Gosamvardhan Enquiry Committee to recognise that if the unwanted and uneconomic cows and their progeny have to be effectively saved from slaughter, the responsibility had ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... #39;s Report, only two Gosadans had been established up to the date of that Report in Uttar Pradesh. The Second Five Year Plan (p. 283) shows that out of the 160 Gosadans for which provision had been made in the First Five Year Plan, only 22 Gosadans had been established. According to the Facts and Figures about Bihar, 1955, p. 88, three Gosadans had been established at Berwadih, Nirmali and Monghyr where there were about 700 uneconomic animals at that time instead of 6,000 which should have been there as per the estimated capacity for each Gosadan. What, in the view of the several committees, is the conclusion ? According to the Memorandum on Human Nutrition Vis-a-vis Animal Nutrition in India, p. 4, the present scheme of establishing Gosadans for segregating old and useless animals can serve only a limited, purpose and if extended countrywide, it is likely to hinder rather than help the problem of disposing of, the surplus animals. At p. 47 the authors of this Memorandum appear to have felt that in advocating, the adoption of Gosadan Scheme on a countrywide, basis, sufficient consideration had not been given to its practical aspects. It is pointed out that according to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of all cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle will defeat the very object of the directive principles embodied in Art. 48 of the Constitution. We find from para. 6 on p. 283 of the Second Five Year Plan that the Gosadan scheme did not make any, real or satisfactory progress and that altogether 22 Gosadans housing only 8,000 cattle had been established by the States up to the date of that document and even then many of the States had encountered difficulty in, securing the areas of land needed for their; operations. The Planning Commission considered that it would be impossible to establish enough of these Gosadans and they reached the conclusion that in defining the scope. of the ban on the slaughter of cattle the States should take a, realistic view of the fodder resources available in the country. and the extent to which they can get the. co-operation of voluntary organisations to bear the main responsibility for, maintaining unserviceable, and unproductive cattle with a measure of assistance from the Goverment land general support from; the people., As already stated,' the, Memorandum on Human Nutrition vis-a-vis, Animal. Nutrition at p. 4 expressed the view that th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dhan Enquiry Committee). The position has considerably changed since then. There has been a large increase in human population and famines and epidemics having been largely brought under control, there has been an increase in the animal population also. Already there is a competition between man and the animal for the available land. The growing human population needs more food for which more land is required. The refugee problem has yet to be solved and sufficient land has to be found for settling the refugees therein. With organised facilities for artificial fertilisers and the introduction of scientific methods of cultivation agricultural production is expected to increase and the problem of food for human consumption may be capable of a satisfactory solution. But as regards the cattle feed the gap between the requirement and the available quantities is so wide that there is little possibility, in any foresee- able future, of the country producing enough to feed them adequately. To summarise: The country is in short supply of milch cattle, breeding bulls and working bullocks. If the nation is to maintain itself in health and nourishment and get adequate food, our cattle must ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... milk yield of a cow, as already stated, is very much less than that of a she-buffalo. As the Gosamvardhan Enquiry Committee's Report points out, despite all the veneration professed for the cow, when it comes to the question of feeding, the she-buffalo always receives favoured treatment and the cow has to be satisfied with whatever remains after feeding the she-buffaloes, bullocks, and calves in order of priority. The growth of cities and heavy demand for milk in the urban areas have contributed to the slaughter of good stock. For want of space no freshly calved animal can be brought in without getting rid of one that had gone dry. Salvage facilities not being available or, if available, being uneconomical, the professional gowalas, who are mostly, if not wholly, Hindus, find it uneconomical to maintain the cow after she goes dry and consequently sell her to the butcher for slaughter at ₹ 30 to ₹ 50 per head, irrespective of her age and potential productivity, and import a fresh cow. The veneration professed for the sanctity attached to the cow does not prevent them from doing so. In big towns the municipal regulations are stringent and slaughter is permitted only o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h from the agriculturists a price higher than what the maimed ones will fetch from the butchers. The breeding bulls and working bullocks (cattle and buffaloes) do not, therefore, require as much protection as cows and calves do. The next question is as to what should be the scope of the ban on the slaughter of animals. One view is that the slaughter of all animals (cattle and buffaloes) of all categories should be regulated by the State and that animals below a specified age or not suffering from some natural deformity should not be allowed to be slaughtered. Drastic and stringent regulations have been imposed by municipal laws and have been tried but experience shows that they are not sufficient at least to protect the cow. It has been found to be extremely difficult to enforce the regulations for inadequacy of staff and veterinary inspectors, little or no check on the veterinary inspectors who succumb to the pressure or inducements of the butchers and pass animals not really useless as and for useless and aged animals. A large percentage of the animals not fit for slaughter are slaughtered surreptitiously outside the municipal limits. For reasons of economy rapacious gowalas o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ulls and bullocks (cattle and buffaloes) which are useful as milch or breeding or draught animals and those which are not and indiscriminately prohibits slaughter of she-buffaloes, bulls and bullocks (cattle and buffalo) irrespective of their age or usefulness. In our view the ban on slaughter of she-buffaloes, breeding bulls and working bullocks (cattle. and buffalo) which are useful is reasonable but of those which are not useful is not valid. The question as to when a she-buffalo, breeding bull or working bullock (cattle and buffalo) ceases to be useful and becomes useless and unserviceable is a matter for legislative determination. There is no provision in the Bihar Act in that behalf. Nor has our attention been drawn to any rule which may throw any light on the point. It is, therefore, not possible to apply the doctrine of severability and uphold the ban on the slaughter of she- buffaloes, breeding bulls and working bullocks (cattle and buffalo) which are useful as milch or breeding or working animals and strike down the ban on the slaughter of those which are useless. The entire provision banning the slaughter of she-buffaloes, breeding bulls, and working bullocks (cattle and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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