‘It is for States to crack down on cow vigilantes’: 

‘It is for States to crack down on cow vigilantes’: 

Overview

The State governments have a responsibility to crack down on cow vigilante groups and prepare a counter-mechanism to act against and prosecute cow vigilantes.

What has happened?

• A Supreme Court Bench (led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra) has ordered the Chief Secretaries of 22 States to file their compliance reports on steps taken.

The steps include:

• Appointment of dedicated nodal police officers in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police
• Preventing cow vigilantes, or ‘gau rakshaks’.
• To restrict/stop “taking the law or becoming a law unto themselves.”

Note:

Supreme Court had earlier ordered the States and the Union Territories to appoint nodal police officers in every district to crack down on cow vigilantes.

Filing of reports by States : Status

• Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat have filed their compliance affidavits.
• All compliance reports need to reach the court before the next hearing.
• The court had earlier given the 29 States and seven Union Territories time to put in place a counter-mechanism to act against and prosecute cow vigilantes.

Conclusion

The compliance reports need to be filled by all the states. The state governments need to take the responsibility, and directions would be given to all states.