JUDGMENT

MAJMUDAR, J.:- All these appeals by special leave arise out of the judgment of the Division Bench of Calcutta High Court in Civil Rule No. 709(W) of 1971 decided on 20th August, 1982 (reported in 1982 (2) Cal HN 273). The appellants in these appeals are the State of West Bengal and the other contesting respondents who were before the High Court. 27 respondents herein had filed the writ petition before the Calcutta High Court, challenging the validity of exemption of slaughter of scheduled animal, namely, cows, from the operation of the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) on Bakri-Idd day. The writ petitioners had obtained leave under Order 1, Rule 8 of the Code of Civil Procedure and joined respondents 7 to 21 representing the Muslim community. The writ petitioners contended before the High Court that the State of West Bengal respondent No. 1 before the High Court had wrongly invoked Section 12 of the Act when it exempted from the operation of the Act, the slaughter of healthy cows on the occasion of Bakri Idd on the ground that such exemption was required to be given for the religious purpose of Muslim community. The Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court after hearing the contesting parties took the view that such slaughter of cows by members of Muslim community on Bakri Idd day was not a requirement of Muslim religion and, therefore, such exemption was outside the scope of S. 12 of the Act. Consequently, the impugned order was dehors the statute. In that view the Division Bench allowed the petition and issued a mandamus to the appellants, State of West Bengal respondent No. 1 and its delegate officers respondents Nos. 2 to 16 in the writ petition calling upon them to forbear from giving any exemption under S. 12 of the Act in respect of slaughter of cows on the occasion of Bakri Idd day thereinafter. The writ petitioners oral application for leave under Art. 133 of the Constitution was refused as according to the Division Bench it had followed the Constitution Bench decision of this Court in M. H. Quareshi v. State of Bihar, AIR 1958 SC 731, in coming to the said conclusion.

2. As noted earlier the State of West Bengal as well as other contesting respondents of Muslim community have preferred these appeals by way of special leave to appeal from the aforesaid judgment of the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court.

3. As all these appeals involve common questions of facts and law, learned counsel for contesting parties addressed common arguments in all these appeals. Consequently, we are disposing of these appeals by this common judgment.

4. Learned counsel for the appellants in these appeals vehemently contended that the view of the High Court is erroneous and does not correctly interpret Sec. 12 of the Act. It must be held that such exception can be granted for fulfilling any religious purpose and such purpose may not be an obligatory purpose. That even it if is open to a Muslim to offer sacrifice of a goat or a camel or a cow and when such a sacrifice should be of a healthy animal then it was perfectly open to the State to grant exemption from the operation of the Act so far as slaughtering of healthy cow on Bakri Idd day was concerned. It was also contended that the High Court had misread the judgment in Quareshis case (AIR 1958 SC 731) as this case had interpreted Art. 25 of the Constitution of India and in that light it was held that slaughter of cows could not be considered to be a part of essential religious requirement. So far as S.12 of the Act is concerned it does not talk of an essential religious purpose but talks of any religious purpose which may include even an optional purpose. Mr. Tarkunde, learned senior counsel, appearing for one of the appellants vehemently contended that for operation of S.12 it is not necessary that the religious purpose must be a mandatory purpose but would cover even an optional purpose as contemplated by the Muslim religion