The Bombay High Court on Friday allowed Jain temples in Mumbai, Pune and Nashik to carry out through volunteers the delivery of special food consumed by the community while fasting for nine days, starting April 19.
A Division Bench of Justices S.C. Gupte and Abhay Ahuja was hearing a petition filed by two Jain trusts — Shree Atma Kamal Labdhi Surishwarji Jain Gyanmandir Trust, and Sheth Motisha Religious and Charitable Trust.
The plea sought special permission to “take away pious boiled cooked food from the premises of the religious trust” for the Ayambil fast. The plea also urged the court to allow the trusts to open their Jain temples while following all the standard operating procedures issued by the State government under the ‘Break The Chain’ drive on April 13 to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The advocate appearing for the trusts told the court that while restaurants and bars are allowed to deliver food, religious trusts were not being allowed to do so.
Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan had opposed the plea and said restaurants are allowed to carry out home delivery through online orders and no one was allowed to go to restaurants personally.
The court said home deliveries could be done by a team of not more than seven volunteers and all COVID-19 safety norms should be adhered to by all those cooking and serving food.
The Bench said, “Considering that the State government has permitted restaurants and other food joints to cater to the public through home delivery services, it would be clearly in the interest of justice to allow 58 Jain temples in Mumbai, and three in Pune and Nashik to deliver the pious cooked food to the homes of the devotees.”
