On Friday, the high court of Calcutta declined to pass on any last-minute orders to stop the plans to slaughter around 10,000 goats for the ongoing Kali Puja in the temple of Bolla Kali in North Dijanpur.
However, the bench comprising Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya agrees on considering the larger issue of whether animal sacrifice in the name of God should be permitted or regulated. The court admitted the PIL(Public Interest Litigation) petition and asked the respondent authorities to file their response within eight weeks on this aspect
The next hearing will be next year in March.
The Court has expressed its opinion that it would be unfeasible to issue any last-minute orders regarding the planned slaughter of goats at the Bolla Kali Mata Temple, which is scheduled to occur today.
"This instant PIL is filed to ensure that no animal sacrifice takes place in the name of God and animals are slaughtered only for serving food to mankind. The petitioners have sought interim orders for the proposed slaughtering of goats in the Bolla Kali Mata Temple, Dinajpur, which will take place today itself. Thus, we are of the view that any interim mandatory order at this n-th hour, would not be workable and would not be effectively implemented," the Court's order stated.
The State was instructed by the Court to ensure proper implementation of the measures it had imposed to prevent mass slaughter of animals. When the PIL was taken up for hearing this morning, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Ashoke Chakraborty expressed worry that a sudden decision by the Court could result in a disturbance of law and order. The legal representative of the state also mentioned that the authorities of Dinajpur district held multiple meetings with the Bolla Kali Mata Temple Committee and set certain guidelines to prevent any large-scale animal slaughter.
During the hearing, a representative of the Akhil Bharatiya Krishi Goseva Sangh (ABKGS) argued that sacrificing goats is not an essential religious practice.
The representative stated that the practice originated during the British era when a Zamindar was arrested for not paying Zamindari Tax. He prayed to Goddess Kali to get released on a Friday and promised to sacrifice a goat to the Goddess in the temple.
This led to the practice of sacrificing goats becoming popular.
On the other hand, the petitioner's advocate relied on the judgments of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and the Tripura High Court to argue that animal sacrifice in the name of God is illegal and not an essential practice of religion.
The advocate pointed out that the two judgments are pending adjudication in the Supreme Court and that no stay order has been passed yet.
