The Supreme Court has refused to interfere with an order restraining a woman from feeding birds from her balcony flat, in a high rise building in Mumbai. “If you are living in a residential society, then, you have to conduct yourself according to the norms,” said a bench of justices UU Lalit and Indu Malhotra.
The bench said in a recent order that the Bombay City Civil Court, on September 27, 2013, had granted interim injunction by which it had restrained the petitioner Jigeesha Thakore, from feeding the birds from the balcony of her flat. It noted that when the civil court order was challenged by the woman before the Bombay High Court, it had refused to interfere and made the interim injunction as absolute, by dismissing the appeal on July 12, 2016. “In the circumstances, we see no reason to interfere in the matter. The special leave petitions are dismissed,” the bench said, while directing the civil court to dispose of the pending suit as expeditiously as possible.
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In 2011, Dilip Sumanlal Shah and Meena Shah, residing in the 10th floor of an apartment in Worli, moved the civil court against Thakore and her family members residing on the 14th floor. The Shah family sought injunction against the Thakore family, for creating nuisance for them and other occupants of the building, by feeding birds with water and grains from her balcony. The 20-storey cooperative housing society had also moved court against the Thakore family, seeking direction to restrain them from feeding the birds from the balcony of their flat.
In their plea before the civil court, the Shah family contended that the Thakore family has installed a metal platform outside their balcony window. They argued that a large number of birds flocked the platform, causing nuisance due to droppings and filth. The Shah family argued that Thakores start bird feeding at 6.30 am in the morning, which is done several times in the day till evening.
The society had requested the Thakores to use the public places designated for feeding birds and passed a resolution that no member will be allowed to feed birds from their balconies or windows.
The Thakores, in their reply to the civil suit by Shah, had contended that they were animal welfare activists and associated with an NGO since 1998 and ran a dog shelter. They said that the Shahs used to be regular suppliers of medical and surgical equipment to the NGO but their relations turned sour. They said it was not possible to feed birds on the ground level, as they could come under a car or be attacked by some cats and dogs.
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