New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (July 13) stayed the ban on the slaughter of cows and calves in Tamil Nadu which was in place following a May 27 order of the Madras high court, reported Hindustan Times.The chief minister C. Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government in the state had moved Supreme Court challenging the Madras high court order.In an interim order on Monday, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta stayed the high court order and issued notice on a Special Leave Petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government.The bench said that the final paragraph of the high court’s order, which directed the state-wide ban, appeared to require “correction”.In its May 27 order, the Madras high court had directed the chief secretary and the director general of police to ensure that no cow or calf was slaughtered anywhere in Tamil Nadu, either on the eve of Bakrid on May 28 or on any other day.The Tamil Nadu government argued that while the high court had correctly stated that animal slaughter could take place only at designated slaughterhouses, but it had also said that no cow or calf should be slaughtered on Bakrid or any other day.The state government said that these directions were contradictory.It also submitted that the high court’s order was contrary to the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Animal Preservation Act, 1958. As per the law, cows above the age of 10 years that are no longer fit for work or breeding can be slaughtered after obtaining a certificate from the competent authority.