Bombay HC Urges State Govt to Review Jain Trust’s Plea for Temporary Meat Ban

The Bombay High Court on Thursday (August 29) directed civic authorities in Maharashtra to urgently review and decide on a petition submitted by the Sheth Motishaw Lalbaug Jain Charities.

The Jain public charitable trust has requested a temporary ban on animal slaughter and meat sales in light of the community’s upcoming religious event, ‘Paryushan Parv.’

The petition, seeks a directive for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the civic bodies of Pune, Mira Bhayandar, and Nashik to expedite their decision-making process. The trust has requested that the ban be in effect from August 31 to September 7.

In its plea, the trust highlighted various aspects of Jain belief, including ‘ahimsa’ (non-violence), and argued that allowing animal slaughter during Paryushan Parv would be detrimental to the principles of Jainism.

A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar noted that there was no obstacle to directing the civic bodies to address the trust’s representation.

“We accordingly direct the authorities to decide on the petitioner’s request for a temporary ban on the slaughtering of animals and the sale of meat from August 31 to September 7. We urge the civic bodies to make a decision urgently, as the festival is set to commence on August 31,” the division bench stated.

The trust’s plea further emphasized that members of the Jain community are compelled to witness animal slaughter during the Paryushan Parv.