TIA NEWS /
The Bombay High Court today refused to grant interim stay on ban on slaughter of bulls and sale of their meat during the Muslim festival of Bakri Eid. A division bench of justices A S Oka and V L Achliya, hearing a batch of petitions seeking relaxation on the ban on slaughter and sale of meat of bulls from September 25 to 27 on the occasion of Bakri Eid. The Court declined to grant any interim relief to the Maharashtra Act by which the ban was imposed.
The court said we are not inclined to grant any drastic interim relief at this stage which would amount to a stay on section 5 of the Maharashtra Preservation of Animals (Amendment) Act. The court asked whether interim relief could be granted on the state government’s statutory power.
The Court said, if there was power of relaxation under the Act, it would have asked the state government to consider it. The court refused to accept the petitioners’ contention that slaughter of animals and their sacrifice forms an essential part of the Muslim community’s religious practice.
Early March this year, after President Pranab Mukherjee granted assent to Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 2015, the beef ban was enforced in the state, including on sale or possession of beef, with stringent penalties.