It is the responsibility of the State to not only pay maintenance charges for the cattle seized by its officials for alleged cruelty, but also to compensate the owners if any of the animals go missing before the trial court finds the owners to be not guilty of the offence, the Madras High Court has held.
Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy further ruled that if the cattle owners had no previous case, they would be entitled to interim custody of the animals even during the trial period, on condition that they should take care of the cattle well and produce them before the court whenever necessary.
The orders were passed while disposing of two criminal revision cases filed by G. Arun Prassan of People for Cattle in India. The litigant pointed out that the Uthukottai Tahsildar in Tiruvallur district had seized 79 cows, calves and buffaloes when they were being transported in a cruel manner.
After the seizure, the cattle were kept in a private Goshala. However, on applications filed by the cattle owners, a Judicial Magistrate in Uthukottai had permitted them to take interim custody of the animals after taking their photographs and upon execution of personal bond for ₹5 lakh.
Assailing such an order passed by the Magistrate, the revision petitioner said, it would not be appropriate to give interim custody of the animals to the cattle owners who had been accused of subjecting them to cruelty. He claimed that illegal transport of cattle to Kerala was rampant in Tiruvallur district.
On the other hand, the cattle owners questioned the locus standi of the revision petitioner to object to their plea for interim custody. They alleged that some of their cattle had gone missing because the petitioner had approached the High Court and obtained an interim stay of the Magistrate’s order.
After hearing both sides, the judge held that the petitioner was entitled to file the revision. He, however, said, it would be the responsibility of the State and not the cattle owners to pay the maintenance charges to the Goshala. If the cattle owners get acquitted in future, the trial court would order compensation for the missing cattle.
