The Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari-led West Bengal government has issued a notice reiterating the complete ban on the slaughter of any cattle or buffalo without a mandatory fitness certificate. The government has cited a 1950 Bengal law and a 2018 Calcutta High Court order in its notification.
The modified notice under the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950, states that no cattle or buffalo may be slaughtered without official certification that the animal is fit for slaughter.
The government said that the fitness certificate will only be issued by the Chairperson of any Municipality or the President of any Panchayat Samiti, jointly with a Government Veterinary Officer after the both of them agree in writing that the animal is over 14 years of age – rendering it unfit for work or breeding purposes – or that the animal has become permanently incapacitated due to old age, injury, deformity, or any other incurable disease.
‘No open public slaughter’
The notice also bans public slaughterhouses, stating that animals will be slaughtered only at the Municipal slaughterhouse or at a slaughterhouse designated by the local administration.
Violating the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950, could lead to a fine of up to six months in jail, up to ₹1,000, or both.
“All offences committed under the 1950 Act shall be treated as cognisable offences,” read the notice.
In the event of refusal to issue the fitness certificate, a person may appeal to the State Government within 15 days of receiving a communication rejecting the certificate.
The Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari-led West Bengal government has taken a series of actions since ending 15 years of Mamata Banerjee's rule.
All offences committed under the 1950 Act shall be treated as cognisable offenses.
The BJP won 206 seats in the 294-member Assembly, a major shift from the 77 it had secured in the previous election. The BJP came to power in Bengal for the first time since independence. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had won 212 seats in the last Assembly polls, finished a distant second with 80 seats and is leading in one constituency.
