Shimla
The Supreme Court has taken a tough stand on the issue of animal sacrifice in Bhunda Maha Yagya organized from 2 to 5 February in Rohru, Shimla. The court has issued a notice to the Himachal government and the State Pollution Control Board and sought a reply. The Supreme Court bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Arvind Kumar took cognizance of the matter and asked the government to file an affidavit.
The petitioner has alleged that a week before the Maha Yagya, a legal notice was sent to the Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police Shimla and SDM Rohru demanding a ban on animal sacrifice. Despite this, the rules were ignored and sacrifices were done openly. The videos that went viral on social media have also been presented as evidence in the court, in which the scenes of sacrifice are captured.
Let us tell you that the Himachal High Court had banned animal sacrifice in temples in the year 2014, challenging which Maheshwar Singh had filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court in the year 2017. After this, the Supreme Court allowed animal sacrifice in Kullu Dussehra with certain conditions, stating that a fixed place should be set up for the sacrifice.
The petitioner argued that animal sacrifice is an inhuman act in modern society and it should be stopped. He claimed that the 2017 instructions of the Supreme Court have been openly disregarded in Rohru. Now the next hearing of this case will be after 4 weeks, in which the Himachal government will have to present its side.
