MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has directed the Mumbai Police to inform it about the steps taken to check illegal slaughter of cattle and the sale of beef in the city.
A bench of Justices RM Savant and SS Shinde yesterday also directed the Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCP), Zones I and III, to file their respective affidavits listing down the "action plan", or the steps that they propose to take to clamp down on such illegal slaughter houses or meat shops.
The bench was hearing a writ petition filed by a city resident alleging that beef was being sold openly in areas such as Nagpada, Agripada and Dongri in the city.
The petitioner, one Arun Kabadi, claimed in his plea that even though he had made several complaints to the police in this regard, they had failed to take action.
Kabadi's lawyer Raju Gupta told the court that in March this year, another bench of the HC directed the DCPs of zones I and III to take cognisance of the petitioner's complaints, and to take "appropriate action" against the illegal meat shops. The bench had also asked the police to take help of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC's) Health department to check the alleged illegal sale of beef in the above areas.
"However, the police has failed to take the requisite steps and many meat shops and slaughter houses continue to operate without valid licenses. Several of them also continue to sell beef despite the ban on the same by the state government," the petitioner said.
The police, meanwhile, told the court that since the March order, it had imposed fines on 53 meat shops that were found to be operating without valid licenses in the areas mentioned by the petitioner.
The petitioner, however, sought that owners of these mean shops must not merely be fined under the BMC Act, but that they also be "booked by the police under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for the illegal slaughter and sale of beef".
The bench then directed the DCPs to file their respective affidavits by September 12.
"We want you (the police) to take prompt action. You ought to be proactive and ensure that all these illegal businesses are stopped immediately," the bench said.