Vehicle Seized Over Suspicion Of Cattle Slaughter? Allahabad HC Orders Rs 15 Lakh Compensation
The Allahabad High Court on Monday, November 9, directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay over Rs 15 lakh in compensation to a man whose vehicle was seized by Mirzapur police.
The police seized the vehicle over a suspicion that it was being used to transport two bullocks to West Bengal for slaughter. The petition was filed by one Tej Prakash whose DCM Eicher vehicle was seized and later confiscated after it was found transporting two bullocks.
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In a big relief for the petitioner, the court directed the state to pay an additional compensation of Rs 25,000 to the petitioner for the mental agony, financial hardship and unnecessary harassment suffered by him on account of the illegal confiscation.
The Court clarified that the State can recover the compensation amounts from the officers who are found responsible for the illegal confiscation following an appropriate departmental inquiry.
Justice Sandeep Jain pointed out that the vehicle was seized and subsequently confiscated only on an assumption that since Mirzapur adjoins the neighbouring State of Bihar, the cattle must have been intended to be transported to the West Bengal for slaughter.
“Such a conclusion is founded merely upon conjectures and surmises and is wholly unsupported by any independent evidence,” the Court said, adding that the existence of an international or inter-State boundary by itself cannot constitute proof of illegal transportation.
