SC admits petition against cow vigilantes for hearing

The Supreme Court on Friday admitted for hearing a petition by Pune-based Social activist Tehseen Poonawala seeking ban on the cow protection groups indulging in violence and removal of their violent contents on the social media.

The Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy issued notice to the Centre and six state governments of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand returnable on November 7.

Annexing over a dozen incidents of violence by the cow vigilante groups, the petition says their menace is spreading fast to every noon and corner of the country creating disharmony among various communities and castes.

It said police and other law enforcement agencies have either been complicit with these groups or have merely been a mute spectator to their acts of violence in the garb of protection to cows.

"Existence of such violent vigilante groups who believe in mob justice is a threat to rule of law in the country," the petition said, pointing out that the state governments like Gujarat and Maharashtra provide them identity cards as vigilantes in the garb of cow protection to let them perpetrate violence. It noted that the Apex Court had ordered disbanding of such groups in Chhattisgarh in 2011.

Petitioner Poonawala, who states that he is running a social initiative of "India at 2047" to provide platform for youth, is concerned over they becoming victims to the so-called cow protection groups.

The petition says the violence committed by the socalled Gau Raksha Dals has reached such proportions that Prime Minister Modi expressed anger on August 6 and had to declare them as people who are destroying the society in the garb of the cow protection.