NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said it can’t pass order asking everyone in the country to become vegetarian.
“Do you want everybody in this country to be vegetarian?” an SC Bench asked the PIL petitioner-organization urging the court to ban the “barbaric” trade in meat or leather whether for export or consumption within the country.
The Bench comprising Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta made obvious its ire with the prayer of the petitioner ‘Healthy, Wealthy, Ethical, World-Guide India Trust.’ The court refused to hold an urgent hearing in the matter and adjourned it till February.
The petitioner organisation has sought direction to the Centre, states or their agencies that they should immediately stop the production, sale or trading in raw leather and other related products for exports or domestic trade.
“The Central state governments, Union Territories and their agencies cannot and should not run, promote, encourage, finance, help, assist or involve themselves in the meat trade in any form or manner, be it directly or indirectly running and operating slaughterhouses, or any activity involving the raising and killing of any living creature for their flesh as food,” said the petition.
The petitioner organisation has moved another petition seeking curbs on the hazardous chemical farming as it was against the farmers’ welfare and public health.
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The apex court’s a stinging observation came even as the Shiv Sena and other Hindutva outfit have forcibly closed some 400 meat and chicken shops at various locations in Haryana’s Gurgaon demanding that they remain shut during Navaratri.
“We had met with the administration and said that the meat shops in Gurugram should be shut during Navaratri. We had demanded that these shops should be closed for nine days. But, the administration did not take any notice and hence, we are on the streets to close these shops. We are requesting the people to shut down their shops. If they do not do, we will force them to close their shops. If there are any law and order problem, then the administration is responsible for it,” a member of the Sanyukt Hindu Sangarsh Samiti (SHSS) had said on Wednesday.
With agency inputs