The Bombay High Court on Wednesday told the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to ensure that no animal sacrifices take place at a housing society on Bakri-Eid unless allowed the municipal corporation allows it, Live Law reported.
A division bench comprising Justices Girish S Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain was hearing a petition filed by Haresh S Jain and Apeksha B Shah, two residents of a housing society named Nathani Heights in Mumbai Central.
The order comes two days after some residents of a a housing society in Mira Road objected to a family bringing two goats into the complex ahead of Bakr-Eid. They claimed that the family wanted to slaughter the animals in the complex. They chanted “Jai Shri Ram”.
The Muslim family, however, told the police they did not intend to sacrifice the goats in the complex and would have taken them to a slaughterhouse, reported The Times of India. Eleven person have been booked in connection with the incident.
During the hearing on the plea by the south Mumbai residents, lawyer Subhash Jha, representing the petitioners, told the High Court that on Tuesday, his clients came to know that some people had brought animals to the building premises to slaughter them on Bakri-Eid, The Indian Express reported. The petitioners said that they approached the police station, where they were given a verbal assurance that no animals would be slaughtered on the building’s premises.
The petitioners said that since no action was taken in this regard, they approached the High Court to seek an urgent stay on the slaughter.
Advocate Joel Carlos, representing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, told the court that no such ban could be imposed as the civic body’s policy allowed for goat sacrifices on Bakri-Eid at designated places in housing societies. He said that an officer would be sent to the housing society to ensure that there were no violations.
The bench said that the municipal corporation should ensure that no illegal slaughter of animals takes place at Nathani Heights unless the municipal corporation permits it, according to The Indian Express.
“In the event the Municipal Corporation has not issued a licence to undertake slaughtering of animals at the said place, the officers of the Municipal Corporation with the aid of the police personnel shall take appropriate action in accordance with law to prevent slaughtering of animals proposed for Thursday,” the court said.
The court also directed the city’s Nagpada police station to assist municipal officers in case action needs to be taken.
The case will be heard again on July 3.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!