Mumbai News: Bombay HC Halts BMC's Demolition Of Kabutar Khanas, Seeks Response From Civic Body & Animal Welfare Board
Mumbai: In a temporary relief to animal lovers, the Bombay HC on Tuesday restrained the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from demolishing kabutar khanas (pigeon feeding areas) across Mumbai. It also directed that the Dean of KEM Hospital be added as a party to the petition and sought responses from both the BMC and the Animal Welfare Board.
Order Passed
A division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor passed the order while hearing a petition filed by three Mumbai-based animal lovers—Pallavi Patil, Sneha Visaria, and Savita Mahajan—who claimed that the BMC had launched a city-wide demolition drive of kabutar khanas since July 3 without any lawful authority.
The petitioners, represented by advocates Harish Pandya and Dhruv Jain, alleged that the civic body’s actions were arbitrary, unlawful, and had resulted in the “mass starvation and extermination” of pigeons, violating provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
“It is our pious duty to care for these birds. Human encroachment has destroyed their natural habitat, and now the civic body is destroying even the few designated spaces they have left,” the petition stated.
The petitioners claimed that BMC officials, along with police personnel, had been deployed at various kabutar khanas to physically stop citizens from feeding pigeons, even levying fines of up to Rs 10,000. The plea highlighted that over 50 kabutar khanas, some over a century old, exist across Mumbai and are part of the city’s heritage and ecological balance. The petitioners also argued that the civic body’s actions violated their fundamental rights under Articles 14, 21, and 51A(g) of the Constitution.
"Despite repeated requests, neither the BMC nor the police could produce any legal order authorising the demolition or the ban on feeding pigeons," their lawyers submitted.
Pandya urged the court to permit the petitioners to feed the pigeons twice a day. The court, however, declined, noting: “However, in view of the policy now sought to be implemented by the Municipal Corporation considering the human health to be paramount, we are not inclined to grant any ad interim order at this stage.
”The court added that it needs to hear all the parties before passing 'appropriate orders' on the petition. The court has directed the respondents to file affidavits in reply and serve copies to the petitioners’ counsel in advance. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on July 23.
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