Major Row Erupted In Supreme Court
A serious protest by a group of lawyers reached the Supreme Court bar association and other related bodies following the return of non-vegetarian food in one of the Supreme court canteens during Navratri season.
Navratri is a nine days Hindu festival in which people worship and celebrates nine forms of goddess Durga. In a letter to the SCBA and SCAORA, senior advocate Rajat Nair took objection to the resumption of non veg foods during Navratri festival stating that it was taken collectively ‘without appreciating that several other bar members also hold a similar view’. The decision was not in accord with the ‘bar’ being pluralistic in its operational style and displayed intolerance and ‘lack of respect for each other’, Bar and Bench reported.
So, they have 133 lawyers and others practising at the top court supporting the letter written by advocate Nair. The protest from this specific group of lawyers emerged after the shutdown of non-vegetarian food at the top court’s canteen was challenged, by another group of lawyers, during the Navratri festival.
On Tuesday, October 1, non-vegetarian was served at the top court’s canteen, after lawyers protested, and they refused to eat vegetarian food. Writing to Kapil Sibal who is the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of India, the lawyers protesting vegetarian food service had said the decision to ban non-vegetarian food during the Navratri festival was “unprecedented” and “will also set a very wrong precedent for the future”.
"For the first time this year, the Supreme Court canteen has announced that it will only serve Navratra food. This is not only unprecedented and will also set a very wrong precedent for the future...,” the letter said.
After the protest from the section of the lawyers, the non-vegetarian food was resumed in the Supreme Court's canteen.