With 10 days to go for Eid, the Bombay High Court on Monday refused to issue guidelines for gau rakshak s, while asking the police to detail preventive measures it proposes to take against cow vigilantes.
A Division Bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and M.S. Karnik said the court doesn’t want to get into judicial legislation. The court was hearing a PIL filed by Shadaab Patel that said Bakri Eid is nearing and attacks by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes are continuing. It said these vigilantes are taking law into their hands and killing people for eating and storing beef and transporting cows. It said it is the duty of the State government to protect its citizens. The PIL seeks direction from the State government for guidelines to ensure safety.
The PIL pointed out that since 2014, cow vigilantes have allegedly killed around 24 people across the country. It mentioned the killing of Mohammed Akhlaq, Pehlu Khan, Junaid Khan and the recent attack on a man in Nagpur last month.
Additional Public Prosecutor Jayesh Yagnik told the court that there are five registered organisations of cow vigilantes in Mumbai, and the city police have their details. He said there is a 24-hour city police helpline in case of untoward incidents.
The court said law and order is the responsibility of the State. “We are not going to frame any guidelines or rules on how the issue needs to be handled. We only want law and order to be maintained, so tell us what preventive steps you (police) will take,” the court said, and adjourned the matter to August 23.
In the last hearing, the bench had issued notices to Mumbai Commissioner of Police, State DGP and the State government.
