Slaughter ban for 9-days during Jain festival may lead to similar demands from other communities: HC
Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday wondered if it can prohibit slaughter of animals during the nine-day 'Paryushan Parv' of the Jain community and whether such an order would open the floodgates with other communities also seeking similar bans during their festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne was hearing a petition filed by a trust of the Jain community challenging the 2024 orders passed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as well as civic bodies of Nashik and Pune prohibiting slaughter of animals only for one day during Paryushan last year.
The community sought a ban on slaughtering for nine days from August 21.
The trust highlighted various aspects of Jain belief, including Ahimsa (non-violence) and said if animal slaughter takes place during Paryushan Parv then it would be detrimental to the cause of Jainism.
The court then questioned if it can pass such an order.
"It shouldn't happen that tomorrow every other religion also makes similar demands. You (Jain community) will get an order for nine days for Paryushan Parv, and then some other community will come forward and seek similar orders for the Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri festival," the court asked.
The bench was informed that the Maharashtra government has already notified 15 days in a year when slaughter is prohibited, including one day for Paryushan Parv.
The court wondered if it can interfere once a policy decision is taken as it was not aware about what percent of the state's population is vegetarian and non-vegetarian.
Mumbai is surrounded by other municipal corporations which do not have slaughter houses and, hence, are dependent on the Deonar slaughterhouse in the metropolis, the bench added.
"Under which statutory obligation should slaughterhouses be ordered to remain closed for nine days," the court asked.
The bench ordered BMC, Nashik, Pune and Mira Bhayandar municipal corporations to decide on the trust's representation seeking prohibition on slaughter for nine days and give their decision by August 18.
Senior counsel Darius Khambata, appearing for the trust, told the court that last year the BMC, while permitting one day ban on slaughter, had reasoned that Mumbai was a cosmopolitan city with a sizeable population of non-Jains and had people whose daily staple includes non-vegetarian food.
"The Nashik and Pune civic bodies have not assigned any reason behind their order. The Mira Bhayandar Corporation has not even bothered to pass an order last year," Khambata said.
The bench directed the trust to submit their representation to the four civic bodies for reconsideration of the decision.
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'Go back to your own country': Indian-origin taxi driver attacked in Dublin
London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.
Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.
Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".
"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.
"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.
A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.
"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.
The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.
"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.
“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.
It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.
The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.
“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.
A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.
Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.
The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.
His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.
“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.
Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.
“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.
Another violent anti-Indian attack in Ireland
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) August 5, 2025
Taxi driver Lakhvir Singh was attacked with glass bottles while doing his job pic.twitter.com/mtkwhLWISx
