UP Govt Clears Ordinance Against Cow Slaughter

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday approved an ordinance penalising cow slaughter with jail terms ranging from one year to 10 years and fines between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, also has a provision that allows authorities to paste pictures of the accused in their neighbourhoods or a prominent public place if they go on the run.

Under the provisions of the ordinance, authorities can charge the driver as well as the owner of the vehicle used to transport beef in an unauthorised manner. The government said the ordinance proposes harsher prison sentences even though the current law has a provision of maximum seven years in jail.

According to the ordinance, the accused will also have to bear expenditure related to the maintenance of the seized cattle for a year or till the animals are released, whichever earlier. The ordinance also defines punishment for cases in which cattle is physically injured, or is transported in a manner that risks their lives or mutilates them.

This violation also carries a fine between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 3 lakh. Those who violate provisions related to slaughter face up to 10 years and penalties between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

Those found guilty of an offence for the second time will face double the punishment proposed under the ordinance.

Read: Webinar by Dr. Abdul Samad on Common Poisonings in Ruminants

Source: The article is extracted from The IndainExpress, June 10, 2020.