MUMBAI: Day-long developments in the BMC and the Bombay high court on Friday led to the revoking of the two-day meat ban imposed by the civic body on September 13 and 18 for the Jain fasting period of Paryushan. The meat prohibition in the city is now limited to September 10 and 17, which was imposed by a state government circular.

The Shiv Sena followed up its talk during Thursday’s protests with a motion in the BMC on Friday afternoon seeking scrapping of the ban on slaughter and sale of meat. Backed by all parties (the BJP was silent), the resolution was signed by BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta in the evening. “The resolution has been signed by me and thus on September 13 and 18 there will be no meat ban,’’ Mehta told TOI.

The high court, hearing a challenge to the four-day meat ban, was informed of the decision and accepted it, but not before putting some tough questions to the representatives of the state government and the BMC. “There is a progressive look to Mumbai. These are regressive steps,’’ it said.

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“The party is neither happy nor upset,” said Madhav Bhandari, state BJP spokesperson. “The issue is directly related to the local self-government.” Pointing out that the Congress-NCP regime had introduced the meat ban for Paryushan, he added “The sale of meat should be banned all over the state for two days every month due to Ekadashi.”

The MNS and the Samajwadi Party called it only a half-victory. Sandeep Deshpande, the MNS leader who was booked on Thursday, demanded withdrawal of the ban on all four days.

As hearing began around 11.30am before the HC bench of Justices Anoop Mohta and Amjad Sayed, state advocate general Anil Singh defended the state’s two-day ban as a “justified reasonable restriction” and said the BMC added two more days on its own following an appeal by Jain community leaders on August 27.

BMC counsel N V Walawalkar, who admitted that the ban on meat sale was in place only since last year, attempted to justify it saying shops need to be shut if the abattoir is closed “to prevent sale of illegal meat which could be contaminated’’.

The judges, who have been questioning the ban in a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai, tore into the defence. “Can you go beyond the directive of the government?’’ they asked and expressed concern at the manner in which the ban was announced without any notice. “What happens to small traders who have leftover meat?’’

“All these years you only banned slaughter, not sale. How can you take this decision at the eleventh hour? We understand the sentiment part. But purchase is an independent choice… It could be from packaged meat,” said Justice Mohta.

As the BMC counsel began his defence, Singh said he had received instructions that the BMC ban would be dropped. Around 5pm, Walawalkar received a text message and read out from a screenshot of the civic resolution that the ban was withdrawn.

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The HC recorded and accepted their statements and posted the matter to Monday for orders. The court has not stayed the state ban on meat, and is likely to decide the fate of the September 17 ban. The first day of the ban on Thursday was marked by protests by the Sena and the MNS. The protests continued in many areas on Friday.

Sena leader in the BMC Trushna Vishwasrao moved a motion made to mayor Snehal Ambekar on Friday afternoon seeking revoking of the ban and the civic resolution of 1994 before a special general body meeting. Unopposed by the BJP and backed by all, it went within 20 minutes to the mayor, who forwarded it to the commissioner. He signed it in the evening.

“Keeping the Deonar slaughterhouse shut for four days in a week and restricting the sale of meat on these days is a violation of people’s basic rights. We cannot force our thoughts upon others on what they should be eating,” said Vishwasrao, moving the resolution. Devendra Amberkar, the BMC opposition leader from the Congress, said: “We welcome any opposition towards the meat ban.”

Samajwadi Party leader Rais Shaikh said the Deonar slaughterhouse is a means of livelihood for many and a source of major revenue for the civic body. It should keep these in mind before ordering arbitrary closures.

“There was unnecessary politicization of the issue as a GR issued by the urban development department in 2004 had brought on the two-day ban; the BJP government had not imposed it,’’ said Manoj Kotak of the BJP.

In the high court, the Mutton Dealers’ Association’s counsel Zubin Behramkudin argued that the ban violated the fundamental rights of equality and trade and cannot be invoked on a mere request from a particular community in defiance of Constitutional guarantees. The HC bench seemed to agree and said, “While a one- or two-day ban appeared reasonable, why were two days added?”

It also asked the state why it was silent on the difference in the length of the bans imposed by the Mira-Bhayandar civic body and the BMC. “Should you not come out with a policy?’’ asked Justice Mohta, who also questioned how “fish and eggs’’ were not banned? “Are they not non-veg?’’ he asked.

The BMC said the abattoir was shut for one day during Paryushan since 1964 and a second day was added by a 1994 civic resolution. The ban on chicken was added only in 2014.

The court said: “In this commercial world, an import-export world, how can you prohibit sale? We have to change our attitude in view of globalization.’’

Read this in Hindi: मीट बैन पर झुकी सरकार, अब दो दिन ही बैन