Create mechanism to grant licences for animal slaughter on Bakrid: HC to BMC

Acting Chief Justice Naresh H Patil said, “We understand that it is not easy for the state (government) to regulate religious activities within the legal framework.”

THE BOMBAY High Court Tuesday directed the BMC to create a mechanism for granting of licences for animal slaughter on Bakrid — to be celebrated on Wednesday — that can be followed by residents every year.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the Jiv Maitri Trust, which had challenged two notices issued recently by Dr Yogesh Jayprakash Shetye, the general manager of BMC-run Deonar abattoir, granting permission to slaughter sheep and goats outside the abattoir on Bakrid. The trust also stated that the online permissions for animal slaughter were being granted without scrutinising the applicants’ background.

Acting Chief Justice Naresh H Patil said, “We understand that it is not easy for the state (government) to regulate religious activities within the legal framework.”

Justice Patil suggested that the state should have uniform policies not only for the online permission of animal slaughter but for other religious festivals as well. “We are of the view that the corporation would frame regulatory mechanism/policy, which should be comprehensive one so that the festivals, ceremonies like events of this nature are regulated in orderly manner keeping in view the mandate of law and the local conditions of the city.”

The court said that if such policies are framed, it will reduce litigation every year. Justice Patil added that “it is a city which likes to celebrate the festival, it is a challenge for the state to manage it”.

Senior Counsel Anil Sakhre, who represented the BMC, told the court that approximately 5 lakh families celebrate Bakrid in Mumbai and approximately 2 lakh animals will be sacrificed on Wednesday. Sakhre added that on Tuesday, the BMC granted online permission for slaughter of 1,60,000 goats in Mumbai on Bakrid.