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The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to coordinate with the Centre and take necessary steps to declare cow as the national animal.
A single-judge bench of Justice Mahesh Chand Sharma said the chief secretary and advocate general of the state will be the legal custodians of the cow.
While Article 48 of the Constitution says the state should take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle, Article 51A(g) speaks of protecting natural environment and having compassion for living creatures.
“It is believed that 33 crore Gods and Goddesses reside inside the cow… cow is the only living being which intakes oxygen and emits oxygen,” the judge said in his order as reported by Hindustan Times.
The judge who retires on Wednesday, also said the animal was a laboratory in itself.
Here are a few of the things in his judgment.
"It is expected from the government that it should declare cow as national animal and for this purpose the Chief Secretary and Advocate General of state are declared legal custodians of cow," the judge, who calls himself a Shiv devotee said in a 139-page order.
The direction was made while the court was hearing the Hingonia Gaushala matter. Over a hundred cows had perished at the government-run cowshed in Jaipur last year.
The direction comes at a time when many states are protesting the government's decision to impose ban on the slaughter of cattle, primarily cows, for commercial purposes.
(With agency inputs.)
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