HC QUASHES NSA CHARGE AGAINST THREE IN U.P. COW SLAUGHTER CASE

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has quashed the detention of three persons under the National Security Act (NSA) in a cow slaughter case in Uttar Pradesh.

Observing that slaughtering a cow “in the secrecy of one’s house” could involve a law and order issue, but not public order, justices Ramesh Sinha and Saroj Yadav passed the order on August 5 on a habeas corpus petition filed by the family members of Irfan, Rahmatullah and Parvez.

The court said: “An act of slaughtering a cow in the secrecy of one’s own house in the wee hours probably because of poverty or lack of employment or hunger, would perhaps only involve a law and order issue.”

“It could not be said to stand on the same footing as a situation where a number of cattle have been slaughtered outside in public view and the public transport of their flesh or an incident where an aggressive attack is made by the slaughterers against the complaining public, which may involve infractions of public order,” added the court. “There was no material for reaching the conclusion that the petitioners/ detenues would repeat the activity in future,” the court said.

Ordering release of the three, the court said: “The detention order and impugned consequential orders are quashed. The detenues/petitioners shall be released forthwith unless wanted in connection with some other criminal case.”

The three were arrested by the Sitapur police in July last year on charges of cow slaughter under various sections of the Cow Slaughter Act, 1955. The NSA was imposed on them on August 14 last year when they were lodged in Sitapur prison.