SC to states: End cow vigilantism
IN THE NAME OF COW Says senior police officer should be nominated in each district; wants penalty in case of violation
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked states to appoint in every district a senior police officer who will be responsible for preventing violence in the name of cow protection.
Proposing measures to stem what it called growing violence by so-called cow protection groups, the court said the nodal officers would have to ensure that vigilantes did not become a law unto themselves. States have a week to comply with the court’s order.
Focus on cow protection, especially by vigilante groups, has risen since the BJP-led government took power three years ago, and several states ruled by the party made laws to punish cow slaughter.
So-called cow protectors have targeted cattle and meat traders, transporters and even farmers walking their animals -- violence that has killed several people, mostly in BJP-ruled states. Critics accuse the vigilantes of using cows as a pretext to target Muslims and Dalits.
The court said states must stop this.
“The senior police officer shall take prompt action and will ensure vigilante groups and such people are prosecuted with promptitude,” a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said.
It said states would have to list steps they will take to step up security on highways, where cow vigilantes have stopped vehicles carrying cattle and attacked people. It also asked the central government to explore what actions it can take against the states that fail to prevent such attacks.
Advocate Tushar Mehta, appearing for four BJP-ruled states, tried to persuade the court not to issue the order but was overruled.
The top court was responding to a private petition from Tushar
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The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a 13-year-old rape victim from Mumbai to terminate her 32-week pregnancy on medical grounds.
The procedure will be carried out on Friday at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital, said the girl’s lawyer.
The order came after a panel of doctors at the hospital said the pregnancy posed a risk to girl’s life. A source in the hospital told HT that according to the doctors’ report, both termination and carrying the baby to the full term — 36 weeks — would pose equal risks to the girl.
The report cautioned that the baby born will be preterm and ‘will have its own complications’. The baby will need neonatal intensive care unit admission. The report added that the mortality of the baby could be avoided if the pregnancy is maintained for full term.
India has a 20-week legal ceiling on abortion except when there is a risk to mother’s life.
The girl’s parents had learnt about their daughter’s pregnancy only during the 29th week of her pregnancy, when the mother took her to a local doctor as she had put on a lot of weight. They moved Supreme Court on August 23.
The court in the last few months has been flooded by petitions from rape victims, many of them minors, seeking permission for abortion. In many cases the pregnancy was too advanced for the procedure to be carried out.
On the court’s directions, the Centre last week issued instructions to all states and Union terri
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