Check fitness of horses pulling Victoria carriages every 3 months: HC

Bombay High Court (HC) suggested on Thursday the state government renew on a quarterly basis fitness certificates issued to horses used to pull Victoria carriages. It was hearing a PIL by NGO Animals and Birds Charitable Trust highlighting that the carriages did not have licences and the horses were subjected to physical cruelty.

When government lawyer Benny Chatterjee told the court BMC was renewing the fitness certificates once a year,a bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Nitin Jamdar said: “You (corporation) can consider renewing them every three months.”

The court also directed BMC to start by October-end the process of taking decisions on whether to issue licences to individual stables.

At the previous hearing,the corporation had told HC it had taken a policy decision in 1973 to not grant licences to stables for horses that pull Victoria carriages owing to health concerns. The court,however,asked it to decide on granting licences in accordance with law. It said BMC could insist on the “highest standards”. The matter has now been posted for hearing on November 1.