In the face of a civil society backlash and criticism from the Bombay High Court, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) told the Bombay High Court on Friday that it decided to r >ecall its circular proposing a ban on animal slaughter and meat sale for four days.
The > proposed ban exceeded the stipulated ban of two days. On Thursday, the High Court questioned the logic in increasing the number of days, and said the decision did not bode well for a modern city like Mumbai.
According to the civic body’s statement on Friday, the ban on slaughter and sale was to be imposed on September 10 and 17. One day has already passed. The proposed extra ban on September 13 and 18, announced in its September 1 circular, will be rolled back “in public interest”, the MCGM told the court.
A >Division Bench of Justices Anoop V. Mohta and Amjad Sayyed was hearing a petition by the Bombay Mutton Dealers Association challenging the ban, arguing that it was unconstitutional, favourable to a small section and detrimental to the livelihood of mutton dealers. In light of the civic body’s statement, the petitioners said they still challenged the ban on the sale of meat on September 17.
The court is likely to pass an order on Monday.
The Bench once again invoked the city’s cosmopolitan fabric to term the move “regressive” and “absurd”, and asked the government to have a uniform policy for the State. “How can such a ban be imposed when no sect has a sizeable population in Mumbai? We are concerned about those who eat more non-vegetarian food as certain sections do not consume vegetarian fare so much. What to eat is an individual choice,” the court said. It also questioned the rationale behind permitting the sale of fish and eggs.
In a scathing observation, the court said: “What is the idea of banning slaughter on some days and allowing it on other days? Do the sentiments differ?” The State government maintained that there was no ban on meat consumption.
