In his detailed judgment, Justice Mahesh Chandra Sharma directed the state government to coordinate with the Centre and communicate the court's decision to have the cow declared a national animal.
Referring to Hindu religious beliefs that 33 crore gods and goddesses reside within the cow, the Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday asked the central and state governments to declare the cow as India's national animal.
In his detailed judgment, Justice Mahesh Chandra Sharma directed the state government to coordinate with the Centre and communicate the court's decision to have the cow declared a national animal. Justice Sharma also directed the government to ensure that those who kill the cow are given life terms. The judgment came exactly a year after the state-run Hingonia Gaushala in Jaipur witnessed the death of hundreds of cows, after which a PIL was filed. Among other things, the petitioners had sought that the cow be declared the national animal, and its slaughter be made punishable by a life sentence for its protection and conservation.
The court also appointed the Chief Cecretary and Advocate General of the state to be the legal custodians of the cow.
The direction comes at a time when a number of states are protesting the government's decision to impose a ban on the slaughter of cattle, primarily cows, for commercial purposes. On May 30, the Madras High Court stayed for four months the Centre's contentious notification in the matter.
Delivering the judgment on his last working day in court, Justice Sharma assigned responsibilities to several government agencies and the police for the proper upkeep of the cows at Hingonia Gaushala, some 30 kilometers from the city.
In its 20-point summary, the court has directed the government to explore the possibility of declaring cow as the national animal. The court cited the example of Nepal, where the cow is the national animal in consonance with the nation's Hindu status.
The court also appointed a monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of its orders. The committee has been authorised to file contempt petitions if its orders are not implemented by stakeholders.
The bench also granted liberty to any person or class of persons to approach the court with a plea in a PIL to declare the cow as the national animal.
In his order, Justice Sharma also cited a number of good effects of cow milk and urine.
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