Animal Welfare Board directs slaughterhouses to shut down operations on Mahavir Jayanti

The Board has written a letter to district collectors and Municipal Corporations requesting them to ensure closure of slaughterhouses in those areas with a predominant population of the community celebrating the Mahavir Jayanthi.

New Delhi: The Animal Welfare Board of India has directed the state government to ensure slaughterhouses shut down operations for a day on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti on Sunday.

The Board has written a letter to district collectors and Municipal Corporations requesting them to ensure closure of slaughterhouses in those areas with a predominant population of the community celebrating the Mahavir Jayanti.

The Board has issued a directive following a Supreme Court's order in 2008 in a case between Hinsa Virodhak Sangh and Mirzapur Moti Kuresh Jamat & Ors, the letter said.

The apex court had noted that 'closure of a trade or business for a limited period is not an unreasonable restriction and is not a violation of article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India'.