Cow should be declared national animal with fundamental rights: Allahabad HC

The court made the observation while denying bail to a Muslim man arrested under Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act.

The Allahabad high court said on Wednesday cow protection should be made a fundamental right of Hindus and declared the national animal while declaring bail to a Muslim man arrested under Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act. The court said cows were an integral part of Indian culture and the Central government should frame laws accordingly.

The Allahabad high court said cows were an integral part of Indian culture and the Central government should frame laws accordingly. (File Photo)

"We know that when a country's culture and its faith get hurt, the country becomes weak," the single-judge bench of Justice Shekhar Yadav said.

"The cow has been shown as an important part in India's ancient texts like the Vedas and the Mahabharata that define Indian culture and for which India is known," the 12-page order further read.

Justice Yadav said the central government should table a bill in Parliament to give fundamental rights to cows and strict laws should be enacted to punish those harming the animal.

The court said the accused, Javed (59), had stolen the cow, killed and beheaded it and kept its meat, adding that he had committed a similar offence earlier too.

"This is not the first offence of the applicant. Earlier too he had committed cow slaughter which had disturbed the harmony of society,” Justice Yadav said.

According to a report in LiveLaw, the court further observed “fundamental right is not only the prerogative of beef eaters, rather, those who worship the cow and are financially dependent on cows, also have the right to lead a meaningful life”.

It also said the right to life is above the right to kill and the right to eat beef can never be considered a fundamental right.

"The country will be safe, only when there would be the welfare of cows, and then only, there the country would prosper," Justice Yadav said.