August 20, 2025: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court that abattoirs in the city will remain closed for two days during the ongoing Jain festival of Paryushan Parv, which commenced the same day. The submission was made by the civic body’s counsel during the hearing of petitions filed by Sheth Motishaw Lalbaug Jain Charities and Sheth Bherulalji Kanaiyalalji Kothari Religious Trust.
The petitioners had challenged the BMC Commissioner’s order of August 30, 2024, which restricted slaughterhouse closures to a single day instead of the nine days traditionally observed by the Jain community during Paryushan. Earlier this month, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne had directed the BMC to reconsider its decision. While the bench acknowledged the festival’s emphasis on ahimsa (non-violence), it also expressed caution that extending such exemptions could create precedents for similar demands by other communities.
During Tuesday’s hearing, BMC’s advocate stated that the Commissioner had now decided to extend the closure to two days within the nine-day festival period. The petitioners, however, maintained that allowing animal slaughter during the remainder of Paryushan would hurt religious sentiments, stressing that slaughter in this sacred period would be “detrimental to the cause of Jainism”.
The bench questioned the legal grounds for enforcing a full nine-day ban, asking under what statutory obligation such an order could be justified. It further noted that slaughterhouse operations fall within policy decisions of the civic body. At present, the Maharashtra government has designated 15 “no-slaughter” days each year. A nine-day closure during Paryushan Parv, the court observed, would be over and above the state’s prescribed limit. The matter will continue to be heard as the court examines the balance between religious sentiments and administrative policy.
Source: The Free Press Journal
