Give details of nod for animal slaughter for Bakri Eid: HC to BMC

The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to file an affidavit detailing the permissions given to slaughter animals outside abattoirs during Bakri Eid, the violations reported, and the action taken.

While hearing a plea, seeking a ban on the civic body’s policy to grant temporary permissions to slaughter outside abattoirs during religious festivals, the court also directed the petitioner, Jiv Maitri Trust, to file a consolidated petition regarding the problems in the policy. The HC ordered the interveners, who sought relaxation of the policy, to file a fresh petition on how it infringes on their fundamental right to practice the religious ritual of animal sacrifice. The bench posted the matter for hearing on October 10.

The counsel for the BMC told the division bench of justices SC Dharmadhikari and Gautam Patel that the civic body had issued 850 permissions for slaughtering animals outside abattoirs and designated places for Bakri Eid. The BMC submitted that it had received 19 complaints of violations so far, and had already taken action against the offenders.

Senior advocate for the trust submitted that apart from the data provided by the BMC, they had also gathered more instances of violations across the city and needed time to put together the information. The advocate reiterated that slaughtering animals outside the abattoir should not be permitted.

The advocates for the interveners submitted that the policy infringed upon their fundamental right to practice their religion, and sought to argue on the flaws in the same.

The bench was, however, not keen on hearing the individual submissions opposing or supporting the policy and directed all three parties to file their contentions on affidavits or petitions. The bench also directed the petitioner and interveners to reach out to the masses and invite interested persons to join them in the case.