The court also said: “An eight-day straight ban can’t be a formula”.
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When did the ban start?
Shiv Sena also slammed the Jains for their insistence on banning sale of meat during their festival “Paryushan”. The ban was imposed in wake of the demands from the Jain community.
There has already been an outrage over this decision in Rajasthan and Mumbai.
Shiv Sena workers hold chickens during a protest on Thursday against the four-day ban on meat in Mumbai. In March, he had claimed success in getting President Pranab Mukherjee to sign a long pending order to get beef banned in Maharashtra. Ans No. However, later it issued an amended order dropping the liquor ban, which seems to be beyond its jurisdiction.
The petitioners have sought interim relief against the ban, but the court said it would give time to the government authorities to file a reply.
The ban has also been enforced in Rajasthan and Gujarat, both ruled by the BJP.
Muhammad Qureshi, a prominent meat dealer, said he and other sellers have challenged the ban in court because it infringes on their right to a livelihood. (Writ Petition (L) No. 2662 Of 2015).
The matter will come up for further hearing on Friday.
Are there judicial precedents governing the ban?
Opposing the order, the Qureshi community said their businesses will suffer heavy losses if the meat ban stays and they will approach the Mayor for its review.
In the same blog post, Justice Katju calls himself a “strong votary for freedom”, which goes to show that most Indians, even Supreme Court justices, have a very deficient understanding of freedom.
The Shiv Sena and the MNS have often accused the state BJP of supporting the affluent Gujarati and Jain population in Mumbai.
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The Paryushman festival is marked by a period of fasting and austerity among India’s prosperous Jain community, who often have considerable influence over politics and business. Out of respect, for their sentiments surely the non-vegetarians can remain vegetarians for 9 days in a year. Apart from the loss in business – to butchers and meat sellers – Mumbaikars want to know how exactly Fadnavis hopes to make the city a financial hub and invite foreign investment if he plans to impose his own diktats about food and lifestyle on the city. “Will Jains stop taking black money in this festival?” the Sena said.
