Madurai, Jun 28 (UNI) Madurai Bench of Madras High Court today extended its interim stay for another four weeks on the operation of statutory rules notified by the Centre banning the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter in animal markets. When the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by S.Selvagomathy (45), Managing Trustee of Justice Shivaraj V.Patil Foundation for Social Legal Education and Development, a Madurai-based NGO came up for hearing, a Division Bench comprising Justices A.Selvam and N.Authinathan extended the operation of Rules 22(b) (iii) and 22 (e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules 2017 notified by the Centre on May 23, after the counsel representing the Centre sought time to file a counter affidavit on behalf of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. The petitioner’s counsel Mohammed Arif appealed the court to extend the interim stay since it had been granted only for a limited period of one month. On May 30, another Division Bench of Justices M.V.Muralidaran and C.V.Karthikeyan of Madurai Bench granted the interim stay for four weeks on a couple of PIL petitions, including the one filed by Selvagomathy challenging the Constitutional validity of the statutory rules. Selvagomathy sought an interim stay on the operation of Centre’s notification on the ground that the statutory rules were repugnant to the parent Act itself since Section 28 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act of 1960 specifically states that ‘it shall not be an offence to kill any animal in a manner required by the religion of any community.’ Section 28 of the PCA Act 1960 specifically permits the killing of any animals for religious sacrifice and Section 11 (3) provides for killing of animals for food. Therefore, the Centre had no authority to extend its rule making power, under the enactment, to the extent of banning sale of animals in a market for the purpose of slaughter, she said. The petitioner further said slaughtering of animals for food and offering sacrifice of animals is a part of the cultural identity of most communities in India that is protected from any legislative or executive encroachment under Article 29 of the Constitution. The new rules offend the “Right to freedom of Religion” guaranteed under Article 25, the protection of interests of Minorities under Article 29 and prohibiting the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets amounted to interfering with the right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business as guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution. The farmers and traders involved in sale of cattle, slaughter house owners and their employees would be deprived of their livelihood in view of the imposition of new rules, the petitioner said. UNI GSM CS 1902