The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow Bench, in deciding the habeas corpus petitions filed by three accused of cow slaughter, quashed the custody order issued against them under the National Security Act, 1980 (hereinafter referred to as 'NSA').
The Court, citing an Apex Court decision, also stated that the NSA should not be imposed on anyone based on the possibility of obtaining bail.
The order was issued by Justices Ramesh Sinha and Saroj Yadav in response to the petitions filed by Parvez, Irfan, and Rahmatullah.
Parvez and Irfan were apprehended by Sitapur Police on July 12, 2020, while slaughtering the cow, while Rahmatullah was apprehended the following day.
Later, action was taken against these defendants under the Uttar Pradesh Gangster Act, 1986. The accused were granted bail in the cases of cow slaughter and as under the Gangster Act, but action was taken against them prior to that under the NSA.
According to the NSA action, the accused persons can be released on bail and after coming out, but they are likely to commit the crime again.
In this regard, the Court, citing the observation of the Supreme Court, rejected the State Government's argument outright.
In its remarks, the Court stated that slaughtering a cow in the privacy of one's own home, most likely due to poverty, a lack of employment, or hunger, might only involve a law and order issue, rather than a public order issue. It cannot be compared to a situation in which a large number of cattle are slaughtered in public view, or where the slaughterers attack protesting members of the public or transport the beef.
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