New Delhi: Following a group of lawyers' protests over a private contractor's decision to offer solely vegetarian meals during the Hindu festival of Navratri, the Supreme Court canteen began selling meat items on Friday, according to Live Law.
The lawyers warned that such a ruling could create "a very wrong precedent" in a letter they sent to the Supreme Court Bar Association on Thursday. They contended that accommodating dietary requirements should be a priority for the Supreme Court canteen, citing the potential consequences of failing to do so as undermining “our pluralist traditions and would result in lack of respect for each other”.
“Once this is allowed, it will open the floodgates to a lot of other impositions as well,” the letter read, Scroll.in reported.
According to the letter, attorneys who observed Navratri in the past brought food from home. The lawyers recommended that the canteen reinstate its standard menu.
“At the same time, we will be glad if they can provide the Navratri menu to those observing it,” the letter added.
The canteen did not offer meat or anything with onions or garlic on Thursday, which is also a day when many Hindus abstain from eating these items.
A contractor privately manages the canteen. The contractor had not received any official directions to discontinue selling meat items, an official from the Supreme Court Bar Association told the Hindustan Times. According to the newspaper, the decision was reached independently in response to requests from certain lawyers.
The Supreme Court will not hold hearings on Saturday due to Dussehra; instead, it will reopen on October 14 following Navaratri.