The Bombay High Court has urged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to reconsider its decision to refuse a nine-day ban on animal slaughter during Paryushan Parva. A division bench led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne made this direction while hearing a public interest litigation seeking a temporary ban on slaughtering in Mumbai, Pune, and Nashik to honour the Jain festival.
"If slaughter houses are closed for 9 days of Paryushan Parva in a city like Mumbai which houses diversified population, then everyone celebrating other festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja/Navratri etc will come to the court and seek similar prayers," the court orally remarked while considering the implications of such a blanket ban.
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Senior advocate Darius Khambatta, appearing for the petitioners, argued that a significant Jain population resides in Mumbai, with over 5% compared to around 3.6% in Ahmedabad. He contended that the BMC did not properly consider this factor while rejecting the request for a nine-day ban through its order issued on August 30, 2024.
Khambatta also cited a Supreme Court judgment that upheld a similar ban by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, terming it a reasonable restriction on the rights of non-vegetarians. However, the division bench was not fully persuaded.
"Under what statutory obligation can the corporation close it for 10 days or 9 days? Just because the SC held that such ban in Ahmedabad was not unreasonable doesn't mean it can be a basis to close abattoirs everywhere," Chief Justice Aradhe observed.
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The court also noted that the BMC already prohibits slaughtering activities on 15 designated days throughout the year, including one day for Paryushan. The State government similarly imposes slaughter bans on seven days, covering various festivals except Paryushan.
Petitioners insisted that these bans failed to adequately consider the higher Jain population in Mumbai and requested a fresh review of the issue.
"We are inclined to permit the petitioners to submit detailed representations to the corporation and the civic body reconsider its decision in light of the representation by the petitioners," the bench stated in its order.
The court directed the authorities to take a fresh decision by August 18, while clarifying, "It is also clarified that this court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case."
