NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed all state governments to appoint a senior police officer for each district to effectively deal with incidents of cow vigilantism.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra the chief secretaries and DGPs of states to file status reports on action taken to prevent such cases. The bench, also comprising Justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar, asked the Centre to respond to the submission that it (central government) could issue directions under Article 256 of the Constitution of India to all state governments on issues related to law and order.
The court, however, declined to grant any immediate relief on the petitioners’ plea to ask the Centre to direct states, under Article 256 of the Constitution, to deal firmly with such incidents.
The apex court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, seeking various reliefs, including a direction to all the governments to take preventive measures against cow vigilantism.
