President gave assent to Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill 1995

President Pranab Mukherjee on 2 March 2015 gave his assent to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill 1995. This amendment bans slaughter of bulls and bullocks in Maharashtra.

President gave his assent to the Bill as per the provisions in Article 201 of the Constitution of India.

Features of the amendment
• If anyone is found selling beef or in possession of it can be jailed for five years and fined up to 10000 rupees
• The new act will however allow slaughter of water buffaloes, which provides carabeef, generally seen as inferior quality meat (that makes up only 25 percent of the total beef market in the state)

Effect of the ban on beef trade in the state
• The move would leave several people jobless
• It may drive up the cost of other meats

The bill that was signed by President of India into a law was passed by the BJP-Shiv Sena State Assembly in 1995. The slaughter of cows was previously prohibited in the state under schedule 5 of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act of 1976. The amendment now puts bulls, bullocks and calves under schedule 5 of the Act, which means a blanket ban on their slaughter.

Earlier, slaughter of bulls and bullocks was allowed based on a fit-for-slaughter certificate under Schedule 6 of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act of 1976.

Role of President in State Legislature

Article 201 mentioned in the constitution of India empowers the Governor of the state to give his assent to a bill passed by the Legislative Assembly of the State or send it for consideration to the President.

Article 201: Bills reserved for consideration — When a Bill is reserved by a Governor for the consideration of the President, the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill or that he withholds assent there from: Provided that, where the Bill is not a Money Bill, the President may direct the Governor to return the Bill to the House or, as the case may be, the Houses of the Legislature of the State together with such a message as is mentioned in the first proviso to article 200 and, when a Bill is so returned, the House or Houses shall reconsider it accordingly within a period of six months from the date of receipt of such message and, if it is again passed by the House or Houses with or without amendment, it shall be presented again to the President for his consideration.