Ahead of the Jain festival Paryushan Parva, the Bombay High Court has directed civic bodies across Maharashtra to consider urgently consider ban on animal slaughter and the sale of meat from August 31 to September 7, 2024.
The directive follows a Public Interest Litigation filed by Sheth Motishaw Lalbaug Jain Charities, seeking to uphold the religious sentiments of the Jain community during their most sacred festival.
A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar heard the PIL on Thursday morning. The bench said, ‘We have heard the learned counsels. Various representations are made to various civic bodies. We do not see any impediment in granting the prayer. And we accordingly direct the authorities to decide the representation of the petitioner seeking to impose a temporary ban on the slaughtering of animals and sale of meat during August 31 to September 7’.
The court emphasized the need for an expedited decision, noting, ‘We urge the civic bodies to take a decision urgently since the festival commences from August 31’.
The bench clarified that the order does not comment on the merits of the representations, and the civic bodies must independently assess the situation and act as per law.
The petition filed through advocates Shreyash Shah and Udayan Mukherjee on behalf of Sheth Motishaw Lalbaug and 30 other Jain charitable trusts, argues that the ongoing practice of animal slaughter during Paryushan Parva directly contradicts the festival’s core values.
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