Two persons charged by the police with unlawfully transporting a camel to the city and slaughtering it along a main road during Bakrid in violation of a September 9 court order, today moved the Madras High Court bench here, seeking anticipatory bail.
Justice Gokuldas, before whom the matter came up, directed Madurai City police to file a counter by September 29.
Petitioners Atham Bava and Khalid Mohammed submitted that they had purchased a camel from Andhra Pradesh and brought it to the city on September 15. Police seized it following the September 9 Madras High Court order, banning camel-slaughter.
Later, police took the camel in a truck to release it outside Tamil Nadu, but ill-treated it, as a result of which it died, they said and alleged that a "false case" was foisted on them to ensure that "the police escaped blame".
The two filed anticipatory bail applications before the bench and agreed to furnish sureties.
On September 9, the principal bench of the Madras High Court in Chennai had declined to lift its earlier order, banning camel slaughter in Tamil Nadu, and directed the state government to ensure that its orders were not violated.
It had dismissed a fresh plea, seeking a direction to authorities to create facilities in the state for slaughtering camels, and also made it clear that police officers would be held responsible if camels were brought and slaughtered within their jurisdiction.
It had also dismissed the argument that camel-slaughter came under "essential religious practices".
The court had also said its August 18 order, prohibiting slaughtering of camels in the state, was passed after hearing all the stakeholders and could not entertain petitions that sought to circumvent its earlier orders.
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