The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought a reply from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Ajoy Mehta over a petition challenging the system of online issuance of permission for the slaughter of sheep and goats ahead of Bakri Eid.
‘Check anomalies’
A Division Bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Riyaz Chagla was hearing the petition filed by Vinod Jain, a trustee of the Jiv Maitri Trust. The Bench asked the commissioner to look into the anomalies of the online system and file a reply to the petition by August 16.
The petition, filed through advocates Ashish Mehta and Sujoy Kantawalla, stated that the BMC is giving such permissions online for the first time this year. Mr. Kantawalla, appearing for the trust, told the court that two lawyers secured permission for slaughtering five goats each outside Esplanade Mansion and Arcadia in Nariman Point.
Mr. Kantawalla said, “Esplanade Mansion is clearly not the right place for animal slaughter.” He said there was no verification of addresses before the permissions were granted. He said one of the two applicants was a Jain, but the permission was given without any ‘application of mind’.
Mr. Kantawalla said last year at least two lakh goats were slaughtered in the city on Bakri Eid. He said, “If temporary licence is issued for various spots in the city, how would the corporation supervise the slaughter in each place?”
The petition said that people only have to fill in details and after clicking ‘submit’, a temporary licence for slaughter is issued immediately in digital format, without any verification of details. The abattoir at Deonar is the only place which has a licence and necessary facilities for slaughter, the lawyer argued, demanding that the online system be scrapped.
(With PTI inputs)
