HC upholds BMC’s ban; goat slaughters only in abattoir

The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday dismissed a petition, filed by the Bombay Suburban Khatik Association, which challenged the revocation of licences granted by

The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday dismissed a petition, filed by the Bombay Suburban Khatik Association, which challenged the revocation of licences granted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 1991 to their members for slaughtering goats and sheep inside chambers of their shops. As a result, the slaughtering of animals within the city will now be confined to Deonar abattoir, the only recognised slaughterhouse within the jurisdiction of BMC.

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The petitioner – an association of butchers, mutton and sheep-meat vendors – had approached HC in 1991 after BMC sought to revoke the licences granted to their members to slaughter goats and sheep at slaughtering chambers attached to their respective shops.

On April 6, 1991, the civic body had accepted its request and issued 360 individual licences through the association. However, the same year, on July 20, the civic body informed the association that the licences would be revoked from the next month and slaughtering would not be permitted outside Deonar abattoir, prompting the association to move HC.

The division bench of justice SC Dharmadhikari and justice Gautam Patel on Friday upheld the civic body’s decision and rejected the petition filed by the association. The bench accepted the arguments advanced by senior advocate Anil Sakhare on behalf of the civic body that the licences were temporary and carried no assurance of permanence.

Sakhare also claimed that the licences were issued on an experimental basis and their non-extension, therefore, does not violate any legally enforceable right or their fundamental right to livelihood. Sakhare added that the continuance of the licences posed a danger to public health, sanitation and hygiene, and that there were statutory provisions disallowing such licences. In support of his contention, the senior advocate pointed out provisions of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, relating to public health and sanitation.

He also pointed out the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (slaughter house) Rules 2001, which directly deal with the slaughtering of animals and contain several prohibitions. For instance, no animal is to be slaughtered in sight of another animal. The rule also states that animals cannot be administered any chemical drug or hormone before slaughtering unless it is ailing from a specific disease.

The bench also accepted his argument that the meat shop owners were “simply not positioned to comply with these requirements”, and it was “against public and legislative policy to allow such disbursed, small-sized individual slaughter chambers” to operate in the city.