Summary
In 2004, the court heard a case related to the transportation of cows from one province to another. The case was made due to the violation of restriction on the export of cows for meat slaughter. The judge found that the defendant had violated the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act. The petitioners filed an appeal, which was denied. After this, a petition was filed in the Honourable High Court of Punjab and Haryana, where the High Court Judge Rajiv Sharma declared that “the entire animal kingdom including avian and aquatic are declared as legal entities having a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person” and declared all citizens throughout the state persons in loco parentis as the human face for welfare/protection of animals. The ruling is still in effect.