Two Mumbai men and a goat: How a buyer’s initials on an animal led to legal trouble

Confirming this, inspector Giridar Gore of CBD Belapur police station told The Indian Express, “We have recorded a man’s (Mithani) statement. He said he had purchased the goat and that his initials were written on it for identification. We are probing other evidence.”

Meanwhile, the goat at the centre of this issue is currently in the custody of the veterinary officer of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), since neither Mithani nor Shafi have sought its return so far.

Following a complaint by a Vishwa Hindu Parishad member on June 15, an FIR was registered by the CBD Belapur police station under Sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act against Shafi and two others. Besides the police sealing his shop the same day, the custody of 22 goats in Shafi’s possession was taken by the corporation.

The shopkeeper submitted before the court through his lawyer that his intention was not to hurt religious sentiments. His lawyer Faizaan Qureshi told The Indian Express, “We submitted to the court that the goat was sold to a person and the initials were only written to identify the buyer, whose name was Riyaz Ahmed Mithani. We argued that this (painting a buyer’s initials on animals) is a common practice to avoid confusion during Bakri Eid (Eid al-Adha), when many goats are sold.”

On August 23, a magistrate court had called the sealing of Shafi’s mutton shop “illegal” and directed the police to return its possession to the owner. Earlier, on June 27, the magistrate court had directed the return of the 22 goats to Shafi.

During the June 27 hearing, the court also heard a plea by an animal rights activist seeking possession of the 22 goats on grounds of “animal cruelty” by Shafi. However, Shafi, through his lawyer, sought the return of the animals from the NMMC veterinary officer, arguing that there was no case of cruelty and that the livestock had been seized without authority.

Stating that the goat with the initials “RAM” was found tied to a pole outside the shop, the court had said there was no evidence on record to show that the animal was “subjected to any cruelty”.

The court added that the FIR, panchnama (a legal document with observations and evidence from the crime scene) and other evidence did not show that the goats were treated in a cruel manner. The court also said that nowhere did the police report mention that the colour used on the goat was permanent in nature and had caused any permanent damage to the animal’s skin.

“Therefore, no valid prima facie facts are present on record which show that the goat was subject to cruelty. With regard to remaining goats, the investigation officer has not prepared a seizure panchnama. As well as there is no allegation that remaining goats are subject to cruelty. Therefore, no prima facie case is made out against (Shafi) of animal cruelty under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act,” S S Jadhav, Judicial Magistrate First Class, Belapur, had said.

The court had said that a third party cannot claim custody of the goats. Stating that it was undisputed the goats were seized from Shafi and he had proved his ownership, the court then directed the veterinary officer to hand over the custody of the animals to him immediately. Since one of the 22 goats died during the pendency of the application, the court has ordered a probe into its death.

An official from the veterinary services of the NMMC said 20 goats were handed over to Shafi after the court’s order. The official added that Shafi did not take custody of the goat in question, stating that he had sold it to Mithani.