HC to BMC: Make sure there is no illegal animal slaughter in the South Mumbai Housing Society during Bakrid

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been ordered by the Bombay High Court to guarantee that no unlawful animal slaughter takes place during the Bakrid celebration in a residential neighborhood in south Mumbai. Eid-al-Adha, also known as Bakrid, is observed on Thursday.

Slaughtering at the Nathani Heights community may only be allowed if a license is issued by the municipal authority, according to a division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain in a special urgent hearing conducted on Wednesday beyond normal court hours. The court stated, “In the event that the Municipal Corporation has not issued a licence to undertake animal slaughter at the said place, the officers of the Municipal Corporation shall take appropriate action with the assistance of the police personnel in accordance with the law to prevent the slaughtering of animals proposed for tomorrow (June 29).”

The court was considering a plea that one Haresh Jain, a member of the community, had filed asking for a blanket ban on animal slaughter in the area. A comprehensive ban cannot be imposed, according to attorney Joel Carlos, speaking on behalf of the BMC.

Carlos said the society’s facilities would be inspected by the authorities of the municipal body, and if there were any violations, appropriate action would be taken. In its ruling, the court said that the police station in question must provide the municipal corporation officials the proper police support if a certain action has to be done.