"Restrain Yourself From Eating Meat For 1-2 Days": Gujarat High Court In Plea Against Slaughterhouse Closure Due To Jain Festival

Hearing a plea challenging the decision of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to close down its sole slaughterhouse in the city on the occasion of a Jain festival, the Gujarat High Court told the petitioner-in-person "You can restrain yourself for 1 or 2 days from eating (meat)".

The bench of Justice Sandeep Bhatt was essentially dealing with a plea moved by Kul Hind Jamiat-Al Quresh Action Committee Gujarat represented by Danish Qureshi Razawala and another person challenging the closure of the sole slaughterhouse in the city.

When the petitioner-in-person came before the bench, the Court asked him: "why you are running at the last moment, we will not entertain this. Every season you rush to the court. You can restrain yourself for 1 day or 2 days from eating (meat)".

To this, the petitioner in person argued that "…It is not about restraining, it's about fundamental rights of the citizens and we cannot imagine our country with even one minute of restraining of our fundamental rights. On other previous occasions also slaughterhouses were closed. Therefore, we came before this court, if it passes an appropriate order, this process can be curbed for the rest of the time also"

In view of this submission, the Court asked the petitioner in person to argue the matter.

The petitioner-in-person submitted before the Court that on the basis of representation made by two people before the AMC on August 18, 2022, it passed a resolution of the sole slaughterhouse in the city in view of a festival of the Jain community (Paryushan) and an appropriate representation was made by the petitioners on August 23

It was further contended that as per National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) guidelines, one must consume protein-rich foods. Significantly, it was also argued that in December 2021, in an oral remark by the Gujarat High Court, the AMC was reminded not to try and control the food habits of people.

It may be noted that dealing with a plea filed by street vendors who were prohibited from selling non-vegetarian food on the streets of Ahmedabad, the Gujarat High Court had, on December 9, rapped the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and had observed how could people be prevented from eating what they want to eat.

"You don't like non-veg food, it is your lookout. How can you decide what people should eat outside? How can you stop people from eating what they want?", asked the Bench of Justice Biren Vaishnav.

Read more about the case here: "How Can You Stop People From Eating What They Want?": Gujarat HC Raps AMC On Plea Against Ban On Non-Veg Food Stalls

Against this backdrop, the petitioner-in-person prayed for interim relief without seeking a counter affidavit from the respondents due to the urgency involved in the matter.

However, denying any interim relief, the Court adjourned the matter to September 2 for further hearing and asked the petitioner to bring more material on the court's records including the order of the High Court of December 9, 2021. "Come with the material. We will consider," the court said as it parted with the matter.

Case title - KUL HIND JAMIAT-AL QURESH ACTION COMMITTEE GUJARAT REPRESENTED BY DANISH QURESHI V/S AHMEDABAD MUNICIPAL CORPORATION