ORDER :

1. Heard Mr. H R A Choudhury, learned Senior counsel, assisted by Mr. F U Barbhuiya, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. J Handique, learned Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent Nos. 2, 3, 4 & 6.

2. The Secretary to the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI, in short), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India (Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying) by its communication No.9-2/2019/20/PCA dated 07.06.2022 communicated to (i) the Chief Secretaries of all the States, (ii) the Director General of Police of all the States and (iii) the Director, Animal Husbandry Department of all the States to stop illegal killing/sacrifices of Cows/Calves, Camels and other animals and taking action against the offenders for violation of Transport of Animals Rules on the occasion of Bakrid stating that large number of animals are likely to be slaughters during Bakrid festival and it is reported that during the transportation of animals, the owner of the animals do not follow the Animal Welfare Laws and Transport Animal Rules that prescribes the number of animals which can be transported in a vehicle resulting in cruelty to the animals noticing that the animals suffer and are subjected to various cruelties and some of the animals even die during transportation.

3. By the said letter dated 07.06.2022, the AWBI has informed all concerned that cruelty to animal is punishable offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and such violation is against the spirit of Articles 48, 48(a) and 51A(g) of the Constitution of India.

4. The AWBI by the said letter dated 07.06.2022 reminded the authorities concerned of the States that as per Rule 3 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, no person shall slaughter any animal within a Municipal area except in a Slaughter House recognized or licenced by a concerned Authority empowered under the law for the time being in force to do so and no animal which is pregnant, has an offspring less than three months old, or is under three months of age, which has not been certified by a Veterinary Doctor that it is in a fit condition to be slaughtered, shall be slaughtered, where slaughter means the killing or destruction of any animal for the purpose of food and includes the process and operations performed on all such animals in order to prepare it for being slaughtered.

5. By the said letter dated 07.06.2022, the AWBI has also informed the authorities concerned that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued a direction in their letter No. 1-988/FSSAI/Import/2014 dated 06.08.2014, wherein 'animal' has been defined as an animal belonging to any of the species specified below -

(i) Ovines,

(ii) Caprines,

(iii) Suillines and

(iv) Bovines and includes poultry and fish specifying that the slaughtering of animals of any other species other than the one listed above is not permissible under the FSSAI Act and Regulation, which effectively means that camels cannot be slaughtered for food at all and wherever the Cow Slaughter Prohibition Act is in force, then slaughtering of cows should not be allowed at all.

6. In the said letter dated 07.06.2022, salient points of few judgments of the Hon'ble High Courts and Hon'ble Supreme Court have been enclosed as Annexures.

7. By the said letter dated 07.06.2022, the AWBI has also stated that unscrupulous persons are carrying on the business of illegal slaughter in violation of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Rules made thereunder and that such unlawful practice is also against the local Municipal Act and Rules, and also the direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in W.P. Laxmi Narain Modi Vs. Union of India and Ors.

8. Further, by the said letter dated 07.06.2022, the authorities in the AWBI informed that the said Board on 30.05.2022 vide No. 9-2/2018-19/IC issued a circular addressing all the State Governments/U