Haji Usmanbhai Hasanbhai Qureshi &
Ors Vs. State of Gujarat [1986] INSC 84 (17 April 1986)
MISRA, R.B. (J) MISRA, R.B. (J) REDDY, O.
CHINNAPPA (J) VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J) ERADI, V. BALAKRISHNA (J) KHALID, V. (J)
CITATION: 1986 AIR 1213 1986 SCR (2) 719 1986
SCC (3) 12 1986 SCALE (1)537
ACT:
Bombay Animal Preservation Act, 1954 - S. 5 -
Sub-s. (1A), cls. (c) & (d)/sub-s. (2) - Ban on slaughter of bulls and
bullocks below the age of sixteen years - Whether imposes an unreasonable
restriction on fundamental right to carry on trade or profession - Whether
discriminatory.
Constitution of India Arts 14, 19 & 48 -
Ban on slaughter of bulls and bullocks below sixteen years - Whether
constitutional and valid.
HEADNOTE:
Sub-section (1) of s. 5 of the Bombay Animal
Preservation Act, 1954 prohibits slaughter of animals except on a certificate
in writing issued by the competent authority that the animal is fit for
slaughter. Sub-section (1A) of s.5, substituted by Gujarat Act No. 23 of 1979,
prohibits grant of such a certificate in respect of (a) a cow, (b) the calf of
a cow, whether male or female, (c) a bull below the age of sixteen years, and
(d) a bullock below the age of sixteen years. It was brought into force
retrospectively with effect from November 28, 1978. Sub- section (2) of s. 5
prohibits issue of certificate in respect of animals, to which sub-s. (1A) does
not apply, if in the opinion of the competent authority (a) the animal is
useful or likely to become useful for the purpose of draught or any kind of
agricultural operations, (b) the animal, if male, is useful or likely to become
useful for the purpose of breeding, and (c) the animal, if female, is useful or
likely to become useful for the purpose of giving milk or bearing offspring.
Sub-section (3) of s. 5, also substituted by Gujarat Act No. 23 of 1979,
exempts from the purview of s. 5 for bonafide religious purposes, the slaughter
of (i) animals above the age of fifteen years other than a cow, bull or
bullock, (ii) a bull above the age of fifteen years, and (iii) a bullock above
the 720 age of fifteen years provided a certificate in writing has been
obtained from the competent authority.
The appellants, who are dealers in beef and
other allied trades, assailed the constitutional validity of the ban imposed by
cls. (c) and (d) of sub-s. (1A) and sub-s. (3) of s. 5 of the Act, on the
slaughter of bulls and bullocks, on various grounds, but the High Court
repelled all of them.
In these appeals by certificate, it was
contended for the appellants that the ban on the slaughter of bulls and
bullocks below the age of sixteen years imposed by cls. (c) and (d) of sub-s.
(1A) of s. 5 of the Act puts an unreasonable restriction on their fundamental
right under Art. 19(1)(g) of the Constitution to carry on their trade and
profession, and that the ban so imposed is violative of Art. 14 of the
Constitution as it discriminates between dealers who deal in meat of cows,
bulls and bullocks and those who deal in meat of buffaloes and other animals.
Dismissing the appeals, the Court, ^
HELD : 1. The prescription of the age of
sixteen years in cls. (c) and (d) of sub-s. (1A) of s. 5 of the Bombay Animal
Preservation Act, 1954 cannot be said to be an unreasonable restriction looking
to the balance which has to be struck between public interest, that required
useful animals to be preserved and permitting the appellants to carry on their
trade and profession as mentioned in Art.
19(1)(g) of the Constitution. [729 C-D; H]
The longevity of cattle and their useful span of life in the State of Gujarat
has increased appreciably with the help of the scientific advances which have
taken place in recent years, such as better cattle feeding, better medical
health and better animal husbandry services. There is no doubt that if the scientific
tests were to be applied, bulls and bullocks up to sixteen years of age would
be found useful for the purpose of breeding, draught and other agricultural
purposes. [729 B-C]
2. Clauses (c) and (d) of sub-s. (1A) of s. 5
of the Act are not hit by Art. 14 of the Constitution. It is only if the
classification is unreasonable that the impugned provisions can be struck
down.[730 C] 721 In the instant case, looking to the different purposes for
which buffaloes and their progeny on the one hand and cows and their progeny on
the other are used in each State it cannot be said that there is any hostile
discrimination against those who deal in meet of bulls and bullocks. The
dealers in different types of meat are not in the same class. A clear
distinction is maintained on scientific grounds between animals which are
useful and which have not yet reached the age of sixteen years so far as bulls
and bullocks are concerned. As regards buffaloes, there is no restriction as to
the age, the only bar being sub-s. (2) of s. 5, based on their usefulness for
purposes of draught, agricultural operations, breeding, giving milk or bearing
offsprings. Bulls and bullocks are useful for agricultural purposes but male
buffaloes are seldom used for any purpose other than breeding or rearing
progeny. [730 E-G] Abdul Hakim Qureshi & Ors. v. State of Bihar, [1961] 2
S.C.R. 610, referred to.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeals Nos.
1734- 39 of 1980.
From the Judgment and Order dated 4.7.1980 of
the Gujarat High Court in S.C.A. Nos. 185, 186, 187, 188, 189 and 190 of 1980.
M.C. Bhandare, M. Quamaruddin, Mrs. M.
Quamaruddin, M.V. Katarki and Salmon Khurshid for the Appellants. G.A. Shah,
Girish Chandra, C.V. Subba Rao and R.N. Poddar for the Respondent.
T.U. Mehta, H.J. Zaveri, S.S. Khanduja and
Yashpal Dhingra for the Intervener.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by r.
R.B. MISRA, J. In the wake of Art. 48 of the
Constitution the State of Bombay also passed an enactment, the Bombay Animal
Preservation Act, 1954 for the preservation of animals suitable for milch,
breeding or for agricultural 722 purposes. Under sub-s. (1) of s.2 the Act was
to apply in the first instance to the animals specified in the schedule and the
schedule mentioned bovines (bulls, bullocks, cows, calves, male and female
buffaloes and buffalo-calves). Under sub-s. (2) of 8.2 the State Government
may, by notification in the official gazette, apply the provisions of this Act
to any other animal, which in its opinion, it is desirable to preserve. It does
not appear that the provisions of the Act were ever made Applicable to any
other animals after the initial enactment of the Act and the schedule by the
Bombay legislature. Section 5 of the Act, so far it is material, runs :
"5.(1) Notwithstanding any law for the
time being in force or any usage to the contrary, no person shall slaughter any
animal unless he has obtained in respect of such animal a certificate in
writing from the Competent Authority appointed for the area that the animal is
fit for slaughter." In 1961 by the Gujarat Act 16 of 1961, sub-s. (lA) was
inserted in s. 5 of the principal Act which read :
"(1A) No certificate under sub-s. (1)
shall be granted in respect of a cow".
Thereupon a consequential change was effected
in sub-s.
(2) of 8.5, after the insertion of sub-s.
(lA). It read :
"(2) In respect of an animal to which
sub-s. (lA) does not apply, no certificate shall be granted under sub-s. (1),
if in the opinion of the competent authority :
(a) the animal, whether male or female, is
useful or likely to become useful for the purpose of draught or any kind of
agricultural operations;
(b) the animal, if male, is useful or likely
to become useful for the purpose of breeding;
(c) the animal, if female, is useful or
likely to become useful for the purpose of giving or bearing offspring."
723 Under sub-s. (3) of s.5 it was provided :
"(3) Nothing in this section shall apply
to the slaughter of any animal above the age of fifteen years for bonafide
religious purposes, if such animal is not a cow.
Provided that a certificate in writing for
such slaughter has been obtained from the competent authority." In 1978
the Governor of Gujarat issued an ordinance being Gujarat Ordinance No. 10 of
1978 to amend the Bombay Animal Preservation Act, 1954. During the period of
operation of the ordinance the Bombay Animal Preservation Act 1954 was to have
effect subject to the amendments specified in s.3 of the ordinance and thus the
Bombay Act was temporarily amended. By this Amending Ordinance of 1978 under 9.
5 of the principal Act for sub-s. (lA) of new sub- s. (lA) was substituted,
which read :
"(lA) No certificate under sub-s. (1)
shall be granted in respect of :- (a) a cow ;
(b) the calf of a cow, whether male or female
and if male. whether castrated or not ;
(c) a bull below the age of eighteen years ;
(d) a bullock below the age of eighteen
years." For sub-s. (3) of s. 5 of the principal Act a new sub-s. was
substituted, which read "(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to the
slaughter of any of the following animals for bonafide religious purposes,
namely :- (a) Any animal above the age of fifteen years other than a cow, bull
or bullock.
724 (b) A bull above the age of eighteen
years.
(c) A bullock above the age of eighteen
years." After the above ordinance was promulgated the legislative assembly
of the State met and in view of that session of the legislative assembly the
provisions of the ordinance were required to be enacted by the legislature
otherwise the ordinance was to lapse. As the legislature did not pass the
requisite legislation in time the ordinance lapsed on March 5, 1979.
Thereafter Gujarat Act No. 23 viz, the Bombay
Animal Preservation (Gujarat Amendment) Act, 1979, was enacted and by virtue of
sub-s. (2) of s.1 the provisions of the Act were deemed to have come into force
on 28th November, 1978, that is, from the date on which the Gujarat Ordinance
No. 10 of 1978 was brought into force. This amendment Act also inserted a new
sub-s. (LA) in 6. 5 of the Principal Act. It read :
"(1A) No certificate under sub-s. (1)
shall be granted in respect of:-
(a) a cow;
(b) the calf of a cow, whether male or female
and if male. whether castrated or not.
(c) a bull below the age of sixteen years;
(d) a bullock below the age of sixteen
years." It is apparent that in cls. (C) and (d) changes were affected
inasmuch as instead of cl. (c) providing for a bull below the age of 18 years,
as in the ordinance, the Act provided in the new cl.(c) for a bull below the
age of 16 years, and similarly in cl.(d) it provided for a bullock below the
age of 16 years instead of 18 years provided in the ordinance. The impugned
enactment also inserted a new sub-s.(3) which read :
"(3) Nothing in this section shall apply
to :
725 (a) the slaughter of any of the following
animals For such bona fide religious purposes, as may be prescribed namely :
(i) any animal above the age of fifteen years
other than a cow, bull or bullock;
(ii) a bull above the age of fifteen years ;
(iii) a bullock above the age of fifteen
years ;
(b) the slaughter of any animal not being a
cow or a calf of a cow, on such religious days as may be prescribed :
Provided that a certificate in writing for
the slaughter referred to in clauses (a) or (b) has been obtained from the
competent authority." The appellants who are dealers in beef and other
allied trades connected with the slaughter of bulls and bullocks seek to
challenge the ban of 16 yrs. put by cls. (c) and (d) of sub-s. (lA) of sec. 5
of the Act as it adversely affects their trades.
According to the appellants a large number of
people in Ahmedabad city and in the State of Gujarat are engaged in the beef
trade, both wholesale and retail and the allied trades. Several hundred shops
of beef dealers, both wholesalers and retailers, are located in Ahemdabad city
alone, and on an average before the new legislation came into force about 100
bovine cattle were being slaughtered in the slaughter houses in Ahemdabad city.
Out of these above seventy used to be bulls and twenty five to thirty
buffaloes. Because of slaughter of bovine cattle there are incidental trades
which are dependent upon slaughter of bovines, their hides and skins and
carcases of animals.
Carcases are used for the purpose of food
which is cheaper food for a large number of people. Hides and skins after they
are properly treated and processed serve the export market and thereby also
serve the country by earning a good deal of foreign exchange. It was further
urged that the different parts of cattle which are slaughtered, like hooves,
horns, guts, pancreas, bones, liver bile and even the blood 726 of animals are
all used for pharmaceutical purposes and products. They are also used for
manufacturing concentrates of drugs and injections meant for supplying proteins
to human beings. Bones of animals which are slaughtered are utilised for the
purpose of manufacturing fertilisers. Hides and skins of animals which have a
natural death are of inferior quality as compared to the hides and skins of
animals which are slaughtered. Calcium is recovered from bons of slaughtered
animals. Glue is made from hooves etc.
Bulls and bullocks cease to be useful for an
purpose after the age of fifteen years and thus the ban on the slaughter of
bull and bullocks below the age of 16 years is an unreasonable restriction on
their right to carry on their trade or business and is not in the interest of
general public.
On the one hand there are the directive
principles of Art. 48 of the Constitution which require consideration of
usefulness of animals from the point of view of giving milk, breeding,
agricultural purposes and draught purposes; on the other hand there is the
requirement of those poor sections of people who get their protein requirement
from beef which is available to them at cheap rates. Thus a balance between the
requirement contemplated by Art. 48 and the requirement of a large section of
people and traders and dealers has to be struck by the court. It was further
pleaded that on certain specified religious days animals are required to be
slaughtered, for example Qurbani at the time of Bakir Id or Id festival, and
there are also other religious ceremonies in connection with which animals and
bovine cattle are required to be slaughtered.
The impugned Act was, therefore, challenged
in the High Court on a number of grounds :
1. that the impugned amendment puts an
unreasonable restriction on the fundamental right of the petitioners under Art.
19(1)(g) of the Constitution :
2. that the State of Gujarat has acted mala
fide in enacting this piece of legislation, being the 727 Gujarat Act 23 of
1979;
3. that the State legislature has no
legislative competence to enact the impugned legislation ;
4. that the amended sub-s. (3) of s. 5 is an
interference with their religious practices and customs and hence violative of
Arts. 25, 26 and 29 of the Constitution ;
5. that the impugned provisions are
discriminatory and violative of Art. 14 of the Constitution inasmuch as the
discrimination is made between those who deal in meat of bulls and bullocks on
the one hand and those who deal in meat of buffaloes on the other.
All these contentions were repelled by the
High Court.
Feeling aggrieved by the judgment and order
of the High Court the appellants have now come to this Court by certificate and
only two contentions have ben raised on their behalf:
1. The ban on the slaughter of bulls and
bullocks below the age of sixteen years is hit by Art.
19(1)(g) of the Constitution as it puts an
un- reasonable restriction on the fundamental right of the appellants and is
not in the interest of general public.
2. The ban put by cls. (c) and (d) of sub-s.
(lA) of 6. 5 of the Act is also violative of Art. 14 of the Constitution.
In support of their contentions reliance was
placed on Abdul Hakim Quraishi & Ors. V. State of Bihar, [1961] 2 S.C.R.
610. It was held in that case that the ban on the slaughter of bulls, bullocks
and she-buffaloes below the age of 20 or 25 years was not a reasonable
restriction in the interest of general public and was void as a bull, bullock
or buffalo did not remain useful after the age of 15 years and whatever little
use it may have then was greatly offset by the economic disadvantages of
feeding and maintaining unserviceable cattle.
728 In the affidavit in reply filed in this
case it has been pointed out on behalf of the Government that because of
improvement and more scientific methods of cattle breeding and also advancement
in the science of looking after the health of cattle in the State of Gujarat
today a situation has been reached where the usefulness of cattle for breeding,
draught and other agricultural purposes is above the age of sixteen years.
Mr. P.J. Bhatt, Under Secretary to the
Government of Gujarat, Agriculture, Forests and Co-operation Department, in his
affidavit dated March 14, 1980 has pointed out in paragraph 11 as follows:
"With the improved and scientific animal
husbandry services in the State, the average longevity of animals in the State
has considerably increased.
In 1960, there were 456 Veterinary Dispensaries,
First Aid Veterinary Centres, etc. whereas in the year 1979, there were as many
as 800 Veterinary Dispensaries, First Aid Veterinary Centres etc.
There were no mobile Veterinary Dispensaries
in 1960, while there were 20 such mobile dispensaries for animals in 1979. In
addition to this there are more than 600 centres for intensive cattle
development programme, where, besides first aid to animals, other animal
husbandry inputs are also provided. In 1960, five lacs of cattle were
vaccinated, whereas in the year 1979, fiftyone lacs cattle were vaccinated to
provide immunization against various diseases of animals.
There were no cattle Feed Compounding Units
preparing cattle feed on scientific lines in the year 1960, while in the year
1979, there were as many as 6 cattle feed factories in the State of Gujarat. As
a result of improved Animal Husbandry services, the disease of Rinderpest which
was widespread in the State and which took a large toll of animal life has been
totally wiped out and eradicated since the year 1971-72, except for an isolated
recurrence in the year 1978 in the cattle impooted in the State from abroad.
Similarly, in respect of Haemorrhagic Septicaemia, a disease which used to take
a heavy 729 toll of animals, the total number of deaths on account of the
disease was 6689 in the year 1961- 62 which has been brought down to about 2000
in the year 1978-79 on account of intensive vaccination programme undertaken by
the Government." It is thus clear that because of various scientific factors,
namely, better cattle feeding, better medical health and better animal
husbandry services, the longevity of cattle in the State of Gujarat has
increased and in this context it is correct to say that if the scientific tests
were to be applied, bulls and bullocks upto sixteen years of age can be said to
be useful for the purpose of breeding, draught and other agricultural purposes.
In these circumstances the prescription of The age of sixteen years in clauses
(c) and (d) of sub-s. (lA) of s.5 can be said to be reasonable, looking to the
balance which has to be struck between public interest, which requires useful
animals to be preserved and permitting the different appellants before us to
carry on their trade and profession.
In a passage from the publication of the
Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi published in the year 1962,
which was reprinted in the year 1967, it has been pointed out :
"Indian cattle are found to do well in
dry areas.
They are small and non-decrepit in area of
heavy rainfall, such as the coastal or the hilly areas of the country. Cattle
of good breeds are thus found in Punjab, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
Varying types of cattle may be seen within
the limits of the same State. Thus in Bombay one finds excellent cattle in
Gujarat and similar dry parts of the State, while in Madras, such cattle are
observed in Coimbatore." The material before the court thus clearly goes
to show that with the help of the scientific advances which have taken place
since 1962, the longevity of the cattle and their useful span of life has
increased and, therefore, the prescribed age of sixteen years can be said to be
a reasonable restriction on the right of the appellants to carry on their trade
and profession as mentioned in Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
730 This leads us to the second contention
regarding the impugned legislation being discriminatory between dealers who
deal in meat of cows, bulls and bullocks and those who deal in meat of
buffaloes and other animals and there is no uniform law with respect to all
cattle. As a second limb to this agrument it was further contended that the
cattle and beef dealers in other States are not subjected to the similar
restrictions, and thus there is a violation of Art.
14 of the Constitution.
This contention in our opinion has no force.
The dealers in different tpes of meat are not in the same class.
It is only if the classification is
unreasonable that it can be struck down. But here a clear distinction is
maintained on scientific grounds between animals which are useful and which
have not yet reached the age of 16 years so far as bulls and bullocks are
concerned. As regards buffaloes there is no restriction as to the age and the
only restriction is sub-s. (2) of s. 5 and that section has remained unamended,
namely the test is whether the animal, male or female, is useful or likely to
become useful for the purposes of milch or draught or any kind of agricultural
operations; whether the animal, if male is useful or likely t become useful for
the purpose of breeding, and whether the animal, if female, is useful or likely
to become useful for the purpose of giving milk or bearing offspring. So
looking to the different purposes for which buffaloes and their progeny on the
one hand and cows and their progeny on the other hand are used in each State it
cannot be said that there is any hostile discrimination against those who deal
in meat of bulls and bullocks. Bulls and bullocks, particularly bullocks, are
useful for agricultural purposes and male buffaloes are seldom used for any
purpose other than breeding or rearing progeny and under these circumstances
the impugned amendment is not hit by Art. 14 of the Constitution.
In the result the appeals must fail.
Accordingly they are dismissed with costs.
P.S.S. Appeals dismissed.
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