The Madras High Court on Friday refused to lift the ban on camel slaughter in the state and said police officers would be held responsible if the animals were killed in areas under their jurisdiction. The bench was hearing a plea that wanted the ban lifted in Tamil Nadu for Bakr-Eid, reported PTI.

Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan dismissed arguments that camel slaughter was an essential part of local Bakr-Eid practices and asked the state government to ensure that its orders were not violated, reported the The Times of India. On August 18, the high court had said camel slaughter cannot be permitted in the state, "especially in the absence of any facility for it."

The bench said that camels are not native to Tamil Nadu and hence had to be transported from places such as Rajasthan. Rajasthan has made it is illegal to take a camel from the state outside its borders. The judges said, "Nobody prohibits sacrifice, but this animal is not in Tamil Nadu and it is not native to the state."