Madhya Pradesh High Court: In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the order dated 07-09-2024, issued by the Chief Municipal Officer, Bina, which imposed a temporary ban on the sale of meat, fish, eggs, and related products during the celebration of Ganesh Mahotsav, a division bench of Suresh Kumar Kait, CJ., Vivek Jain, J., issued notices to the respondents, with time granted for filing counter-affidavits.
The present writ petition was filed on 13-09-2024 but was not listed promptly before the Court due to procedural defects or issues with the registry. Despite the fact that the ban will expire on 17-09-2024, the petitioner argued that failure to consider the petition could set a precedent for future years, potentially leading to repeated violations of fundamental rights. The petitioner claimed that the impugned order issued by the Chief Municipal Officer is arbitrary, discriminatory, and violates the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 (right to equality), Article 19(1)(g) (right to freedom of trade and business), and Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution of India.
The Court observed that the effect of the order was limited to 17-09-2024, indicating that the immediate urgency of the issue may be moot, however, recognised the need to address the concern of setting a future precedent. The Court —
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Issued notice to the respondents.
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Directed the respondents to file their counter-affidavit within two weeks, with a rejoinder from the petitioner, if any, to be filed within one week thereafter.
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Directed the petitioner to take steps to serve notice upon Respondent 1 by all modes of service.
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Ordered the matter to be renotified after five weeks.
The Court matter was ordered that the matter to be renotified after five weeks for further consideration.
[Virendra Ajmani v. Nagar Palika Parishad Bina, 2024 SCC OnLine MP 6536, Decided on 16-10-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Ms. Taniska Ajmani, Counsel for the Petitioner
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