Hoteliers hope ruling will bring back patrons

Pune: Across the city, hoteliers have termed the Bombay High Court verdict on decriminalizing beef possesion as a good news.
A few restaurants, particularly those who are known to serve beef preparations, had to close down over the last few months due to the state-wide ban on both slaughter and possession of beef.
There is good demand for beef and beef products in areas such as Kondhwa, Camp, Koregaon Park and Hinjewadi.
Ali Sajjadi of Gulzar restaurant in Pune Camp expressed confidence that lifting the ban will bring back patrons. "A lot of our customers have asked when we would offer beef-based dishes as they have been enjoying such dishes in other cities. I am sure the butchers will manage the inflow of meat into the state easily," he said.
Requesting anonymity, a restaurant manager from Camp said, "There is plenty of demand for beef. We have been serving it discreetly. The lifting of this ban will allow us to advertise about it openly now."
However, the Pune Restaurants and Hoteliers Association wants to tread with caution. President of the association Ganesh Shetty says, "This may spell good news for some restaurant owners, especially those who were famous for the same. We will have to read the judgement carefully and see if beef possesion has been allowed only for private use or is it alright for commercial purpose also. If restaurants are allowed to import and asked to keep a record, it will be a relief for many."
Shetty added, "I am aware that some restaurants had to close down in Kondhwa area since the ban. Many wanted to stay away from trouble even when they served buffalo meat. If there is a complaint, it becomes difficult to prove it is not cow meat. So the court order may be a relief."
Javed Shaikh from the Lukma restaurant, had a slightly different opinion, he said, "People were still eating beef as after cooking a dish, it is difficult to tell the difference between buffalo and cow meat. Hence, customers were not complaining much. Also the effect is less as most people eat chicken and very few are beef eaters, as it is more expensive too."
Beef trader from Shivajinagar Arif Choudhury, who was also one of the petitioners in the case, said that he and others are happy that at least possession has been decriminalized. Futher, he added that they had also requested that slaughter of bulls over the age of 16 be allowed as they aren't of use to the farmers. "Since this has not been mentioned, we will approach the Supreme Court now," he said.
Senior lawyer SK Jain said on the Bombay HC order, "The high court has struck a fine balance between an individual's fundamental right to possess and eat food of his/her choice and the state's prerogative to make regulations and control what can be done and what cannot be done in its jurisdiction. The court's interpretation of the provisions under the Maharashtra Animals Preservation (Amendment) Act, shall be applicable to all cases in which people are facing prosecution for possession of beef. The ruling will benefit such people owing to decriminalization of possession of beef."
Meanwhile, former chairman of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa Harshad Nimbalkar said, "The onus will now be on the state to prove whether a person found in possession of beef has committed a conscious act. This is because conscious possession of beef is still a punishable offence as per the high court ruling. Those who have been prosecuted only for possession of beef should get the benefit of the court's ruling because mere possession is no more an offence. However, it is also important to see whether the high court has specified its ruling as having a prospective or retrospective effect. In case of a prospective effect, earlier cases related to possession of beef won't get the benefit. In any case, an individual's right to consume beef, provided it has not been slaughtered in the state and is not in violation of any other provisions of the act, stands upheld by the high court judgment."
(Inputs by Tarini Puri, Vishwas Kothari, Meenakshi Rohatgi )