LUCKNOW: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition has been filed before the Allahabad High Court challenging the Varanasi Municipal Corporation’s direction to shut down all meat and poultry shops along the Kanwar Yatra route for the entire month of ‘Saawan’ in the holy city.The petition, moved by the National Loktantrik Party (NLP) through its national president (executive) Mohammad Suhail, on Wednesday, sought urgent hearing in the matter from the court. The petitioner also urged the High Court to quash the order of July 19, 2024, declaring it unconstitutional.The petitioner said that the directive of Varanasi Municipal Corporation not only violates the fundamental right to freedom of occupation, trade or business guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) but also breaches the fundamental right to life with dignity and personal liberty as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.According to the petitioner, the practice of Kanwar Yatra in ‘Saawan’ is an age-old tradition during which meat shops have always remained open. Therefore, the authorities, by passing such directives, are trying to create an exclusion by identity, he adds.The petitioner has further taken the ground that the authorities have passed a directive without considering the fact that the said directive will impact the livelihood of the shopkeepers.
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