Animal Sacrifice Permissible Only In Licensed Slaughterhouses : Bombay High Court Ahead Of Bakr Eid

On the eve of Bakr Eid, two benches of the Bombay High Court directed authorities in different Municipal Corporations in Maharashtra to ensure animals are sacrificed only in licensed slaughterhouses or abattoirs. In fact, Chief Justice Dipankar Datta's bench directed local authorities to take action against those illegally slaughtering animals while staying Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Commissioner's order allowing 38 temporary slaughterhouses to operate in the corporation, just outside Mumbai city. In the second order, the Division bench led by Justice SS Shinde directed the Thane Police Commissioner to check and ensure no animals are illegally marketed or slaughtered within the jurisdiction of Mumbra Police station, Thane. "We make it abundantly clear that no slaughters shall be allowed except in recognised slaughterhouses. And any violation of the statutory rules and the decisions of the competent courts of law, if noticed, appropriate action shall be taken,"the CJ said while dictating the order. The court observed that temporary slaughterhouses are not recognised/ licenced slaughterhouses.Therefore, the arrangement sought to be made by the Commissioner is in the teeth of not Rule 3(1) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, and also against the Supreme Court's decision in 2013 in Lakshmi Narayan Moti vs UOI. The court further noted that the Commissioner passed the order despite opposition from the Assistant Commissioner and without permission from the State Government as the pandemic is on the wane. The PIL was filed by JiveMaitriTrust, stating that the Animal Husbandry department refused to provide veterinarians for these temporary slaughterhouses. They alleged that flesh generated from illegal abattoirs or temporary slaughterhouses are dangerous for human consumptionas they don't have veterinarians to carry out an antemortem and post-mortem. The second petition by Gau Gyan Foundation before Justice Shinde's bench alleged that they had lodged complaints with Mumbra Police station alleging illegal livestock marketing and illegal slaughtering on the ensuing Bakr Eid. However, no action has been taken by the concerned police. The court issued notice to the respondents and granted ad-interim with its directions to the Police Commissioner. Earlier in the day, the Chief Justice's bench refused to interfere with the BMC's circular limiting to 300, the number of water buffaloes to be sacrificed at the designated Deonar abattoir across three days of Eid-ul-Adha or Bakriid, from July 21 to July 23. "We are of the view that the slaughtering of animals ought to be in conformity with the licences issued by the competent authorities, at specified designated places and at specified hours,"th bench said. [JIV MAITRI TRUST vs STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS] [Gau Gyan Foundation vs State of Maharashtra]

Animal Sacrifice Permissible Only In Licensed Slaughterhouses : Bombay High Court Ahead Of Bakr Eid

Sharmeen Hakim

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