Karnataka Passes Strict Anti-Cow Slaughter Law
Karnataka’s BJP government tabled and passed a bill in the state Assembly on 9th December, banning cow slaughter.
Karnataka’s BJP government tabled and passed a bill in the state Assembly on 9th December, banning cow slaughter. The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020. As per this law, there will be a ban on all forms of cattle slaughter and stringent punishment for offenders. The Opposition Congress and JDS walked out of the state assembly, protesting that the Bill was tabled in the assembly out of the blue and that the opposition was not even given a chance to debate. It was quickly approved.
When the BJP was in power in Karnataka in 2010, they had passed a strict law that did not allow cattle slaughter. But that bill was removed when Congress came to power in 2013. The Congress instead used another law that allowed cattle slaughter with certain restrictions and the punishments were less severe.
The law that was passed yesterday is the revised version of the Bill that was passed in 2010 by BJP.
Under the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020, the slaughter of “cow, the calf of a cow and bull, bullock and he or she buffalo” is banned. Buffaloes will be allowed to slaughter only if they are above the age of 13 years for medical research, if the cattle is very sick, or if the cattle has an infectious disease and prevention has to be taken to prevent the infection from spreading. However, a competent authority needs to certify the slaughter.
If a cow is killed in Karnataka, then arrests can be carried out without an arrest warrant. The punishment for slaughtering cows is seven years of jail or fines ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh or both. The new Bill also prescribes new punishments for the transport of cattle, sale of meat, and purchase or taking cattle for slaughter - a prison term of three to five years and a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh.
