Calcutta HC Refuses To Stall WB Govt’s Cattle Slaughter Rules Ahead Of Eid, Orders State To Clarify ‘Cow Sacrifice Not Religious Requirement’ [Read Order]

The Calcutta High Court has refused to stay a public notice issued by the West Bengal Government prescribing conditions for the slaughter of cattle ahead of Id-Uz-Zoha (Bakr-Eid), ruling that the notice was a faithful implementation of directions earlier issued by a coordinate bench of the same court. 

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen disposed of eleven writ petitions filed against the notice, while directing the State to amend it by including two additional conditions that had been omitted, one of which clarifies that the sacrifice of a cow is not a religious requirement under Islam.

The impugned notice, dated 13 May 2026, was issued under the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950. It laid down conditions from Clauses (a) to (h) governing animal slaughter during the festival, including a requirement that bovine animals be slaughtered only after obtaining a fitness certificate from a competent authority, and that slaughter be carried out exclusively at designated municipal slaughterhouses. Violations were made punishable with imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to Rs. 1,000, or both.

The Court noted that the conditions in the notice were substantially identical to the directions issued by a coordinate Division Bench of this Court in WP 328 of 2018 (Rajyashree Chaudhuri vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors.) on 16 August 2018. Since those directions had not been appealed and had attained finality, the Court declined to interfere with the notice, finding no basis for any interim relief.

However, while disposing of WPA(P) 240 of 2026, the Bench found that two conditions mandated by the coordinate bench in GA 2325 of 2018 had been omitted from the current notice. It accordingly directed the State to amend the notice forthwith to include these conditions. The first requires that slaughter of animals including cows and buffalos in any open public place be strictly prohibited. The second, drawing on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mohd. Hanif Quareshi & Ors. vs. The State of Bihar (1975 SCC OnLine SC 17), declares that sacrifice of a cow is no part of Id-Uz-Zoha and is not a religious requirement under Islam. The State, through its Senior Standing Counsel Mr. Nilanjan Bhattacharya and Additional Solicitor General Mr. Ashok Kr. Chakraborty, did not oppose this direction.

On the separate question of exemption under Section 12 of the Act of 1950, which was raised in WPA(P) 243 of 2026 and connected petitions, the State’s Standing Counsel fairly acknowledged that Section 12 is an enabling provision and that the State had no objection to considering the grant of exemption. Given that the festival was expected to fall on 27 or 28 May 2026, the Court directed the State to take a decision under Section 12 within 24 hours of the communication of its order.

Four petitions, namely WPA(P) 253, 246, 247 and 248 of 2026, raised a broader challenge to the constitutional validity of Sections 4, 6, 7, 8 and 11 of the Act of 1950. Senior Counsel Mr. Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharjee argued that the Act was intended to apply only to Kolkata and to municipalities for which specific notifications had been issued, and not to the State as a whole. The Court declined to grant interim relief at this stage, observing that a statute in force for 76 years carries a strong presumption of constitutionality. These petitions were kept alive for hearing on the merits after exchange of pleadings.

A public interest petition, WPA(P) 236 of 2026, filed by one Ramkrishna Pal, prayed for the constitution of special district-level task forces to prevent illegal cow slaughter and for effective enforcement of the Act. The Court disposed of this petition, expressing confidence that the State would implement the Act and the Rules made thereunder in their true spirit.

The Court also directed the State to examine whether adequate infrastructure existed across West Bengal for the issuance of fitness certificates and for carrying out lawful slaughter, and to remedy any deficiency at the earliest.

Case Title: W.P.A. (P) 236, 240, 242–248, 250, 253 of 2026 | Bench: Chief Justice Sujoy Paul & Justice Partha Sarathi Sen | Decision Date: 21 May 2026

[Read Order]