The Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damage to Public and Private Property Act, 2020, was enacted after UP police shot dead 21 protestors during the CAA protests last year. The law gives the state government the power to fine people it suspects of having damaged public property and seizing their homes and other property. Even if the accused is unable to appear before the tribunal, orders for attachment can be passed which cannot be appealed.Another set of laws, also passed after 2014, reverse burden of proof on cow slaughter. These laws were also passed by BJP state governments. They are the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2015, the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, 2015, the Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2017, and the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of CattleAct, 2020. The burden of proof is reversed and if one is accused of killing a cow or possessing beef, then it is for the individual to show that they did not kill the animal or that the meat in their fridge is not beef.Gujarat’s punishment for cow slaughter, which is an economic crime in India because it aims to protect animal husbandry, is life in jail. No other economic offence draws this sentence. In 2019, under the new law, a Muslim man was sentenced to 10 years in jail after he was accused of serving beef at his daughter’s wedding. The police could not prove that this had happened. In that case, the judge said, it was for the man to prove that he was innocent. Because it was not possible to test food that had already been eaten, so the court sent him to jail.Those who transport cattle except under strict conditions are also liable under the law to have their vehicles permanently seized and fined Rs 5 lakh.
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