The Bombay High Court on Monday asked Jains seeking a ban on advertisements for meat and meat products in media, why they want to encroach on the rights of others.
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A Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav Jamdar was hearing a plea by three religious charitable trusts and one local resident seeking directions to authorities to frame guidelines to ban advertisement of non-vegetarian foods across print and electronic media. They said their families are forced to watch such advertisements which is infringing upon their right to live peacefully.
The court said, “What about violation of Article 19 (right to freedom of speech and expression) of the Indian Constitution? Why are you (petitioners) seeking to encroach on others’ rights? Have you read the Preamble of our Constitution? It makes certain promises. You are asking the High Court to order the State government to frame a rule, law or guidelines to ban something. This is a legislative action. It is for the legislature to say, not us.”
The court noted, “an ordinary person has the option of switching off the television when such an ad comes, however, it would have to look at the issue on the point of law.”
The plea mentioned, “It is the fundamental right of everyone in this country to live with human dignity free from exploitation, however, the impugned advertisements exploit the minds of children and youngsters by provoking, promoting and intimidating to consume non-vegetarian foods,” the plea said.