A public interest litigation (PIL) seeking actions against the illegal slaughtering of big mals in the national capital committed by certain persons on the occasion of Eid ul-Adha every year was on Wednesday withdrawn from the Delhi High Court.
A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan allowed the petitioner to withdraw the PIL with the liberty to approach authorities concerned and asked them to decide on the representation according to the law, rules and government policies.
The PIL, filed by law student Sana Khan, had stated that certain persons are putting up banners offering the facility of Qurb (slaughtering big mals) on the occasion of Eid ul-Adha.
The plea, moved through advocate Rajeev Sharma, said that in Delhi Municipal Corporations are responsible to issue licenses after making required scrutiny and verifying the locality for which license is sought for.
Eid ul-Adha, a festival of sacrifice in Islam, will be celebrated on August 1 this year. The festival is marked by sacrificing an mal that is close to them to prove their devotion and love for Allah and subsequently, offerings are distributed to family, friends, and the needy.
"Under such a license, the license holder is permitted to sell meat to the consumers. None of the individuals is permitted to slaughter the mal under the MCD Act," the plea said.
The petitioner claimed that illegal slaughtering by the private persons is taking place at the places which have not been demarcated for slaughtering.
"By this act of slaughtering, these persons disturb the peace of area on account of the sound raised by the mal during the process of slaughtering. These persons are involved in the slaughtering of big mals at a very large scale and apart from the local pollution as mentioned above, they throw the bigger part of the waste at the bank of Yamuna River," the plea said.
"No slaughtering is permissible without holding the valid license as issued by the Corporation.Wrong acts are committed by certain persons which amount to a threat to the health of the common man," the plea said seeking directions to Delhi Police to take appropriate action against the wrongdoers.
The petitioner claimed that she had already submitted a complaint along with necessary documents and proof of pollution at the bank of Yamuna River.
"Every year on the occasion of Eid ul-Adha, the same act is being repeated, therefore, respondents are largely responsible for the problems faced by the common man on account of illegal slaughtering," the plea added.
( With inputs from ANI )