A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been submitted to the Bombay High Court, requesting a temporary prohibition on animal slaughter and meat sales throughout Maharashtra from August 31 to September 7, 2024, in observance of 'Paryushan Parv,' a significant festival in the Jain community.

The petition is expected to be heard on Thursday morning by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar.

The petitioner, Sheth Motishaw Lalbaug Jain Charities, has filed the PIL through advocates Shreyash Shah and Udayan Mukherjee. In their plea, they state that the petitioner, along with approximately 30 other Jain charitable trusts, has made multiple representations to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other civic bodies across Maharashtra, seeking a temporary ban on animal slaughter during Paryushan Parv from August 21 to August 23, 2024.

"The Jain community constitutes a sizeable population in Maharashtra. The community is aggrieved by the 'conduct' of the respondent authorities in not deciding the representations. The issue affects the religious sentiments of the jain community. The festival marks a period of spritiual reflection, self-purification and adherence to the principles of ahimsa (non-violence). 

Despite the sacred nature of the festival, community members are compelled to witness the ongoing animal slaughter, which continues throughout most parts of Maharashtra during this period.

"This ongoing practice not only contradicts the very ethos of the festival but also creates an environment of dissonance and conflict between the values of non-violence that the festival represents and the realities of animal slaughter. This situation adversely affects the sentiments of the Jain community, who find it deeply troubling to witness such practices at a time when they are striving to embody compassion and non-violence," the plea highlights.

The petition, after citing various historic and religious scriptures, also references the period when India was under Mughal rule.

It states, "The importance of the restrictions as prayed in this petition can be traced back to the reign of Mughal Emperors Akbar and even Nawab Walid Ali Shah of Awadh, where ban on slaughter of animals were imposed for as long as six months with the view to promote universal tolerance in the country of great diversity."

The petition was brought before the bench on Wednesday morning. However, the judges indicated that the PIL would likely be heard on Thursday.