Relief for Mumbai traders as Bombay High Court lifts Sep 17 ban on meat sale

Mumbai: In a big relief for the meat dealers, Bombay High Court on Monday stayed the ban on sale of meat on September 17, which implies that meat can now be sold on that day.

The Bombay High Court passed the order while responding to a petition moved by the Mutton Dealers Association, which challenged the ban on slaughter and sale of meat during Jain festival Paryushan.

In its ruling, the HC said that “though the state government circular banning meat sale on two days was issued in 2004, it was never fully implemented.”

The High Court, however, refused to interfere in the slaughter of meat or shutting down of meat shops in the city.

The Maharastra government had earlier imposed the ban on meal sale for four days, September 10, 13, 17 18 but the BMC had on Friday revoked the ban to be imposed on September 13 and 18.

The move was taken following severe protests from Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The High Court had also severely criticised the ban and questioned how the corporation can restrict the sale of meat.

The BMC counsel had on Friday informed court that the ban was originally meant only for slaughter of animals and the ban on sale of meat was consequential. It had argued that this was keeping in mind the health concerns of the public since the meat sold will be fresh.

The court had questioned that when there is storage available, it is an individual's choice ‎when they want to purchase and it cannot be restricted.