Mumbai meat sale ban: Maharashtra govt, BMC to file response in HC today

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday will hear Maharashtra Government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's response on a petition challenging ban on animal slaughter and sale of meat for four days during the Jain festival 'Paryushan'.

The HC on Thursday said imposing a ban on animal slaughter and sale of meat for four days is not feasible in a metropolitan city like Mumbai.

The court sought to know from the civic body under which provision of law it imposed such a ban.

The petition has been filed by Bombay Mutton Dealers Association.

The petitioners have claimed that the decision is unconstitutional as it affects the livelihood of a section of people and favours a small percentage of population. It also goes against the secular fabric of the constitution, they have said.

While the ban on September 10 and 17 was as per government's directives, the Shiv Sena-BJP run BMC imposed it on 13 and 18. The ban covers only the sale of mutton and chicken.

Meat spilled over from dinner tables to streets as hundreds of political activists on Thursday protested the four-day meat ban here during a Jain festival, even as the Bombay High Court raised its eyebrows at the ban.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, in a bid to regain political relevance, led the protests in Dadar, the hub of the meat-loving Maharashtrian community by selling the banned items on Thursday -- the start of the eight-day-long Jain holy festival of Paryushan which devouts observe through religious austerity/fasting and forgiveness.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray made it clear that the four-day ban was not acceptable and his party "would not tolerate any kind of religious compulsions on any community".