The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to modify its previous order forbidding the slaughter of sheep or goats on the premises of housing societies in the city during Eid.
The High Court’s previous order, issued on Tuesday, stated that slaughter would not be allowed in housing societies if there was a slaughterhouse or a designated community space for it within one kilometre of the society. A group of petitioners had approached the High Court seeking that the animal slaughter be allowed on the premises of housing societies for this year.
The petitioners had appealed that the condition be removed, citing the reason that most of the available community spaces are inadequate for slaughtering animals. They also argued that it would be difficult for the community to seek a no-objection certificate from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on a majority vote as the minority community is indeed a minority, especially in the suburbs.
A Division Bench of Justices S.C. Dharmadhikari and G.S. Patel on Thursday ruled that the needs of the city would trump everything, and would prevail over any and every religion. The Bench laid emphasis on the importance of the city’s public health and hygiene.
“Those who do not live within the prescribed one kilometre can abide by the other conditions in the policy, and slaughter the animals within their society premises. The BMC is to use its discretion while granting permissions, at the same time keeping in mind the court’s recent order,” the bench ruled, saying Mumbai was not the only city in the world where goats were slaughtered for Eid.
The petitioners had questioned the issue of hygiene raised by the court in its earlier order, saying there has never been an epidemic as a result of the festival before.
Advocate Anil Sakhare, who appeared for the BMC, said the corporation had made arrangements for the slaughter of 2.5 lakh animals in the city for this year’s Eid.
Meanwhile, the HC dropped the word ‘masjid’ from Tuesday’s order. The order stated that slaughter was forbidden if there was a community space within one kilometre, including a masjid, or mosque.
The petitioners, however, argued that slaughter of animals in a mosque’s premises was anyway banned under the tenets of Islam, and hence sought that the word be dropped from the order.