The Supreme Court on Monday (January 29) issued notices to the chief secretaries of three BJP ruled states—Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana and sought responses on a plea filed by Tushar Gandhi, for not complying with the apex court’s order. The chief secretaries have been asked to file their response by April 3.

The bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud issued notices to the secretaries in failing to curb violence at the behest of cow protection. The apex court on September 6 last year, had asked the states and union territories to appoint district nodal officers to prevent cow vigilantism and to crack down upon the perpetrators.

Besides asking for the summoning of the chief secretaries, the petition also mentioned that instead of curbing cow vigilante activities, there was an increase in such violence.

The plea filed by Gandhi, on December 1, 2017, mentions incidents of lynching of Muslims by cow vigilantes in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana that took place after the apex court’s order.

The court, in its September order, while saying that violence perpetrated by cow vigilantes “must stop” had also directed the states to form a task force in each district. The court had also asked the chief secretaries to act on the cow vigilantes along with the Directors General of Police. The court had also observed that “people should not take law into their own hands” and should not behave “as if they were law unto themselves”.  

It was pointed out to the court that most incidents of cow vigilantism took place on highways and therefore the court had also asked to organize highway patrols. While saying that “nobody can wash off their hands”, the court had also asked the chief secretaries to file compliance reports and pay compensation to victims of cow vigilantism.

—India Legal Bureau