“Kabutarkhana” (the area of feeding pigeons) in Dadar, where the BMC was covered. | Photo Credit: PTI
On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in a petition that challenges the command of the High Court in Mumbai, which directs Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to register criminal cases in the city against individuals of pigeons in “Kabutarkhanas” (pigeon feeding) in the city.
JK Maleshwari and Vijay Bishnoi said that the proceedings were waiting for the High Court and the Supreme Court did not want to initiate a parallel hearing.
“After hearing, in our opinion, the proceedings await before the High Court and considered merit. In such a situation, the parallel to this court is not correct. Therefore, we are not inclined to entertain the current petition of special holidays.
However, the Court noted that the rejection of the petition would not throw the petitioner, Pallavi Patil, Sneha Visaria and Savita Mahajan to move the request to change the order at the High Court.
Health risk
The High Court’s order was based on public health concerns. The court concluded that public feeding of pigeons was a grave for people of all age groups and a potential health risk.
The court had previously reduced the BMC by demolishing some of the old Kabutarkhanas inheritance in the metropolis, but refused to allow birds.
Published – August 12, 2025 12:38
