Nainital High Court today lifted the ban on animal sacrifice in Nanda Devi festival, an annual major religious feature in Kumaon region of the state.

The High Court, however, directed that the animal sacrifice must not happen in open but within closed doors.

Delivering its judgment on a Public Interest litigation by the festival organisers, the high court allowed the animal sacrifice to honour the religious spirit tradition of the people.

The court, however, granted the permission subject to the condition that animal sacrifice will take place inside a slaughterhouse to be built by the local administration in Almora during the festival.

Hearing the PIL a division bench of Chief Justice G Narendra and Justice Subhash Upadhyay said in its order that respecting the faith of the devotees respective Municipal Corporations must identify a location for the slaughterhouse.

The bench also directed the state Pollution Control Board to issue its No Objection Certificate (NOC) for animal sacrifice during the festival which has already started across the Kumaon region.

Further the double bench ordered that a food inspector must be deployed to ensure compliance with its directives during the sacrifice.

The petition to revoke the ban, imposed in 2015 on traditional goat sacrifice in the Nanda Devi Festival, celebrated mainly in Nainital, Almora, was filed by Nainital resident Pawan Jatav and others.

The petitioners argued that animal or goat sacrifice had been a tradition during the festival since the days of their ancestors and the ban on sacrifice within temple premises since 2015 has hurt the sentiments of the devotees. Petitioners had also requested the High Court that arrangements be made for a slaughterhouse so that the religious sacrifice of goats during the festival can take place away from public gaze.

This was a much awaited demand of the petitioners, which was granted by the judiciary, subject to the restrictions. Petitioners had urged the court for construct of a temporary slaughterhouse where traditional animal sacrificial ritual can take place away from public presence.

Court ordered the petitioners that goats brought for Puja and other religious rituals must be taken to the temporary slaughterhouse that will be raised by the municipal body," said Pradeep Kukreti, lawyer for the petitioners.