Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Meat

[Guest guest]

India Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Meat and Fish in Rishikesh

> http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_610031,0008.htm

>

> NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 11, 2004: Boosting the government bid to

free

> the holy city of Rishikesh of "non-vegetarian" items, the Supreme

Court

> has upheld an official notification banning sale of eggs which

followed

> a similar ban on sale of meat and fish in the city, the gateway

to

> important pilgrimage centres. Dismissing an appeal challenging

the

> notification on the ground that it was violative of the

fundamental

> right to carry on all types of business, a bench of Justice

Shivaraj

V.

> Patil and Justice D. M. Dharmadhikari said the high court had

rightly

> upheld the constitutional validity of the notification. Justice

Patil

> said the high court was right in holding that prohibition of sale

of

> eggs within the municipal limits of Rishikesh was not an

unreasonable

> restriction as the by-law was "in the larger interest of welfare

of

> people...." The public dealing in meat, fish and eggs was banned

by

> notification as far back as July 23, 1956 and the same was

extended

to

> Muni ki Reti in 1976. Justice Dharmadhikari said that it was a

matter

> of common knowledge that members of several communities in India

were

> strictly vegetarians and shun meat, fish and eggs and such people

in

> large numbers regularly and periodically visit Haridwar, Rishikesh

and

> Muni ki Reti.