Mumbai: In what can spell troubles for Muslim community, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday said no person would be allowed to slaughter animals in their flats or housing societies during the forthcoming Bakri-Eid festival.
The HC has accordingly ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to maintain public hygiene during the festival.
A bench of Justices Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Gautam Patel said, "In our view, the requirements of public safety, hygienic and sanitation make it impossible to accept any policy that permits slaughtering inside individual flats. The reasons suggest themselves."
"In a city that is as densely crowded and congested as Mumbai and where typical residential apartments are small, we do not believe it is possible to make effective arrangements for human, hygienic and safe methods of sacrificial slaughter within residential flats," the bench added.
The judges further noted that many flats are homes for the very old or the very young (or both) people. "Our concern is about the health, hygienic and safety of all. We believe these concerns override all others," the bench noted.
"Therefore, the BMC is prohibited and restrained from accepting or granting permissions of slaughter inside any individual flat," the judges ruled.
This order would impact at least 8000 applications filed by individuals seeking to slaughter animals at their flats or residential societies.
In their interim order, the judges further clarified that it will not matter whether such an application is made by an individual, a family or a group of individuals to slaughter animals.
"We restrain all slaughtering within residential flats or accommodations. As regard housing societies, while we do not completely restrain the granting of permissions, we will direct that no such permissions should be granted
if the applicant society is located within a reasonable one kilometre walking distance from a community space for slaughtering (including a religious slaughtering space)," the bench clarified.
The judges further expressed their expectation that the BMC would strictly maintain all applicable safety, hygienic and public safety norms and requirements.
The bench was seized with a petition filed by Jiv Maitri Trust seeking total restriction on slaughter of animals outside abattoir.
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