The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre and other parties regarding a plea to keep stray cattle away from national and state highways throughout India. The apex court sought responses on a plea seeking direction to relevant authorities about management of stray cattle on key roads of India, PTI reported.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Centre and other concerned authorities, including the states and Union Territories. The court sought their responses on the plea within a fixed period of four weeks.
“State is charging 10% cow cess and not doing anything,” the Court said as quoted by Bar & Bench. Counsel for National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) responded, “I was told this was the same matter in which judgement is reserved (referring to suo motu case on stray dogs).”
The petitioner said, “Largely it will be covered. I’ve got few additional issues.”
The plea seeking uniform national guidelines and enforcement framework over prevention of cattle intrusion on highways was filed by Lawyers For Human Rights International. It sought direction to relevant authorities to ensure mandatory fencing of national highways and expressway to avoid road accidents. Seeking fencing particularly on accident-prone stretches, the plea also raised calls for establishment of scientifically managed cattle shelters/gaushalas with earmarked funding.
It called for imposition of strict penal liability for illegal abandonment of cattle. Furthermore, the petition urged the court of law to formulate no-fault compensation framework for victims of accidents caused by stray cattle. This notice follows Supreme Court's order on stray dogs.
Supreme Court on removal of stray dogs
In November, the Supreme Court ordered the removal of stray dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, bus stands, sports complexes, and railway stations.
Directing the relevant authorities to send canines to designated dog shelters, the court said, “Every stray dog is to be forthwith removed from such premises and relocated to a shelter after sterilisation.” This order was also issued by a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, alongside NV Anjaria.
The apex court directed the authorities to prevent the dogs from entering the premises of government and public institutions and restrained them from releasing the canines back to the same place from where they were picked up.
The bench monitoring stray dog-bite incidents through a suo motu proceeding directed the local municipal authorities to carry out regular inspections of all premises to ensure no stray dog habitat exists.
