PIL In Bombay HC Seeks Order Against Slaughter Of Sheep, Goat Outside Deonar Abattoir During Bakr-Id [Read Petition]

A writ petition filed before the Bombay High Court has sought cancellation of all permissions granted for the slaughter of sheep and goat outside Deonar abattoir during the upcoming Islamic festival of sacrifice Bakr-Id and an immediate stop at sale of animals for such slaughter outside the abattoir.

The petition filed by Jiv Maitri Trust challenges two public notices issued by Deonar Slaughter House wherein citizens were notified that goats for Qurbani purpose were available for sale from August 10 to August 24 and permission for such slaughter could be obtained online by filling up a form.

“As per various acts/rules/regulation/notification/guidelines/directives/orders of Hon’ble apex court and orders of Hon’ble High courts, the slaughter of any animals can be carried out only in licence slaughterhouse and not otherwise.

Hence, the circulars are clearly arbitrary, capricious and unconstitutional, which has necessitated the Petitioner to approach this Hon’ble court invoking its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India,” the petition stated.

The petition alleged that no background verification is needed to obtain such permission to slaughter goat/sheep outside the abattoir and one person can get permission online to slaughter up to five goats/sheep each which would mean that a family of 10 could slaughter 50 animals.

The petition has relied on various judgments, including the Supreme Court’s decision in Lakshminarayan Modi v. Union of India, and an order of the Bombay High Court dated July 25, 2017, wherein the court had held that no animal can be slaughtered except in registered or licensed slaughterhouse.

According to the petition, disposal of carcasses after the said festival of sacrifice, Bakr-Id, would also be a matter of concern as approximately 2.5 lakh livestock will be slaughtered this year.

Advocates Ashish Mehta and Raju Gupta will be appearing on behalf of the petitioner when the matter comes up before the bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla soon.