A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy asked the Centre and six states-- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Jharkhand -- to file their replies to the plea.
"We will examine the plea. Reply to be filed by the respondents," the bench said.
The apex court , however, did not issue any notice to the Centre and the states and asked the petitioner, Congress activist Tehseen S Poonawalla, to serve the copy of petitioner to the parties.
The plea alleged that these groups were committing atrocities against Dalits and minorities in the name of protection of cows and other bovines and they needed to be "regulated and banned in the interest of social harmony, public morality and law and order in the country".
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"The menace caused by the so-called cow protection groups is spreading fast to every nook and corner of the country and is creating disharmony among various communities and castes," the petition said.
The plea sought to declare as "unconstitutional" section 12 of the Gujarat Animal Prevention Act, 1954, Section 13 of Maharashtra Animal Prevention Act, 1976, and Section 15 of Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964, which provide for protection of persons acting in good faith under the Act or rules.
"These laws and the protection granted therewith act as a catalyst to violence perpetrated by these vigilante groups," it said.
Seeking action against the vigilantes, the petition said the atrocities committed by them were punishable under various provisions of IPC and under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989.
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