Yesterday, the Madhya Pradesh cabinet passed changes to make a law that makes cow vigilantism a punishable offence.
The principal secretary of animal husbandry, Manoj Shrivastava told Hindustan Times that the amendment to the Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act proposed a jail term ranging from one to five years and a fine of ₹ 50,000 for anyone found guilty.
The amendment has been made keeping in mind the Supreme Court order…telling states to act tough on cow vigilantism.
Mind you, currently, the offences related to cow vigilantism are dealt under various sections of the IPC and the CrPC.
The Supreme Court, in July 2018, had said that ‘horrendous acts of mobocracy’ could not be allowed to overrun the law of the land.
Presiding over the bench, CJI, Dipak Misra had directed the parliament of enact stern laws so as to provide ‘preventive, remedial and punitive measures” to deal with cow vigilantism and mob lynching.
Meanwhile, the law has also made it mandatory for cow transporters to carry a sub-divisional magistrate’s permission to ensure their own safety.