The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules, 2017 issued by the environment ministry is being challenged in the Supreme Court and comes up for hearing on June 15.

The contentious rule has not only come in for heavy criticism and caused havoc among cattle traders, dairy farmers and others dealing with livestock, gau rakshaks are now roaming the streets, killing and maiming people, spreading terror.

A vacation bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and Deepak Gupta directed the listing of the matter on June 15. Counsel Sanobar Ali Qureshi, for petitioner Mohammed Abdul Faheem Qureshi on June 7 asked for an early hearing.

The plea is challenging the government notification prohibiting the sale of animals at animal markets for slaughter on the grounds that it violated the right to free trade.

—India Legal Bureau