NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to Centre, Rajasthan and five other states over recent cases of cow vigilantism by ‘Gau rakshak’ groups.
The notice comes on the plea filed by Congress leader Tehseen Poonawalla saying that there has been a spike in instances of cow vigilantism in country and sought ban on these groups.
The court issued notice to Centre and state of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
The court will hear the Rajasthan government’s response to the violence in Alwar on May 3.
The petition also cited other cases of violence over alleged cow slaughter or smuggling, including lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri in 2015.
50-year-old, Pehlu Khan died on Monday in Alwar, Rajasthan, after being brutally beaten up by a group of self-proclaimed 'gau rakshaks'. He was a part of a group of men that was transporting cows in a highway in Rajasthan's Alwar last week.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told the Lok Sabha that the Centre would ensure that justice prevails in the lynching case in Rajasthan's Alwar.
The petition also sought immediate action against Cow Protection Groups indulging in violence and appeals to court to issue directions to remove violent content uploaded on social media platforms by such groups.
The PIL has also referred to a central notification, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Establishment and Regulation of Societies for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Rules, 2001, which provides for establishment of "Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals" and gives it the power to search and seize animals as well as the licenses of the people found involved.