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Laxmi Narain Modi v. Union of India & Others

Writ Petition (Civil) · Neutral citation not assigned (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 309 of 2003)Decided 30 Jan 2014
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 309 of 2003
Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan · Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose

Background

This is an interim order, not a final judgment. Earlier orders had required State committees to oversee slaughterhouses under animal-welfare, environmental and waste-management rules. Reports showed that inspections were irregular, some premises lacked licences and even licensed premises were not following the governing standards. The Court considered how to make the committees' supervision effective.

Decision Breakdown

This is an interim order, not a final judgment. The Supreme Court requested the High Court Chief Justices to nominate a retired District Judge as each committee's convener for two years. The convener was to promote regular meetings, implementation and quarterly reporting to the Supreme Court, with the first report within two months. State Governments or Union Territories were to pay a ₹20,000 monthly honorarium. The order strengthened monitoring of the existing legal framework rather than replacing it with a new blanket prohibition.

Lesson Learnt

Licensing requirements achieve little without inspection and follow-up. This order introduced accountable supervision so slaughterhouse compliance with animal-welfare and environmental rules could be checked regularly.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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