TMI Blog1969 (4) TMI 113X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act 23 of 1956 Cancelling confirmation of the bye-laws made by the Jabalpur Municipal Committee for inspection and regulation of slaughter-houses in so far as the bye-laws relate to slaughter of bulls and bullocks infringes the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under Arts. 14 and 19 of the Constitution. Section 5(37) of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act 23 of 1956 defines municipal slaughterhouse . By s. 66(m) it is made obligatory upon the Corporation to make adequate provision for the construction, maintenance and regulation of a slaughter-house. By sub-s. (1) of s. 257 of the Act the Corporation may and when required by the Government shall fix places for the slaughter of anima ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act 23 of 1956. The bye--laws controlled and regulated the conditions under which animals may be slaughtered in the premises fixed for that purpose and provided for inspection and for ensuring adequate precaution in respect of sanitation and for slaughter of animals certified by competent authorities as fit for slaughtering. By the notification issued by the Jabalpur Municipality a slaughter-house at a place called Madar Tekdi was fixed as premises for slaughtering animals. Under that notification bulls and bullocks were permitted to be slaughtered along with other animals like buffaloes,- sheep, goats and pigs. But on January 12, 1967, the State Government issued a notification cancelling the co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he slaughter of she-buffaloes or breeding bulls or working bullocks (cattle as well as buffaloes), so long as they were capable of being used as milch or draught cattle, was also reasonable-and valid and (iii) that a total ban on the slaughter of she-buffaloes, bulls and bullocks (cattle or buffalo) after they ceased to be capable of yielding milk or of breeding or working as draught animals was not in the interests of the general public and was invalid. Attempts were made from time to time to circumvent the judgment of this Court in Mohd. Hanif Quareshi s case, [1959] S.C.R. 629. After that judgment, Legislatures of the State of Bihar, U.P. and Madhya Pradesh enacted the minimum age of animals to be slaughtered. The Bihar Act proh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mitted slaughter of bulls at bullocks. Alicence had to be- obtained for that purpose. Slaughter of animals in places outside the premises fixed by the Municipality was prohibited by S. 257(3) of the Act, and sale of meat within the area of the Municipality of the animals not slaughtered in the premises fixed by the Municipality was also prohibited. Under the notification by which the bye-laws were issued in 1948, bulls and bullocks could be slaughtered in premises fixed for that purpose. But by the notification dated January 12, 1967, confirmation of the bye-laws insofar as they related to bulls and bullocks was cancelled. The effect of that notification was to prohibit the slaughter of bulls and bullocks within the Municipality of Jabalpur ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a permit or licence of an executive authority, it is not per se unreasonable and no person may claim a licence or permit to do that act as of right. Where the law providing for grant of a-licence or a permit confers a discretion upon an administrative authority regulated by rules or principles expressed or implied, and exercisable in consonance with rules of natural justice. it will be presumed to impose a reasonable restriction. Where, however, power is entrusted to an administrative agency to grant or withold a permit or licence in its uncontrolled discretion, the law ex facie , infringes the fundamental right under Art. 19(1). Imposition of restriction the exercise of a fundamental right may be in the form of control or prohibition, b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mpugned law imposing a prohibition on the carrying on of a business or profession, attempt an evaluation of its direct and immediate impact upon the fundamental rights of the citizens affected thereby and the larger public interest sought to be ensured in the light of the object sought to be achieved, the necessity to restrict the citizen s freedom, the inherent pernicious nature of the act prohibited or its capacity or tendency to be harmful to the general public, the possibility of achieving the object by imposing a less drastic restraint, and in the absence of exceptional situations such as the prevalence of a state of emergency national or local--or the necessity to maintain essential supplies, or the necessity to stop activities inhere ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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