New Delhi: Ahead of Eid al-Adha today, June 29, courts were swamped with last-minute pleas from parties either seeking a curb on animal slaughter or permission for it, leading at least three high courts to express displeasure over the timing, according to Bar and Bench. At the Bombay high court, a division bench of Justices G.S. Patel and Neela Gokhale heard a last-minute application from residents of the Vishalgad Fort, seeking permission to slaughter animals within the premises of the complex.“We express our great displeasure that such applications are repeatedly made at the last minute. Bakri Eid has been on the calendar for the better part of the year,” the court said, according to Bar and Bench.LiveLaw reported that another bench of the Bombay high court, comprising Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain, heard a plea late on Wednesday evening, which sought prohibition of “illegal slaughter of animals” at a housing society called Nathani Heights.The court directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to take appropriate action against those slaughtering animals without a licence issued by it.The petition had originally sought an urgent stay on the slaughter of animals, which was rejected by the court.High courts of Delhi and Calcutta also took a stern view of last-minute applications.In Delhi, reported Bar and Bench, a vacation bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Manoj Jain refused to pass orders on a plea demanding a complete ban on animal slaughter on Eid al-Adha.Petitioner Ajay Gautam’s plea was sent to a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, with whom it was already pending.When Gautam pressed for an observation on Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2000, the court asked him not to overstay his welcome.The Calcutta high court bench led by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam also refused to pass an order in a plea that sought an urgent hearing over the alleged selling of cows across the state for the purpose of slaughter.“We hope you (petitioners) were aware about the calendar and the date when Bakri-Eid would be celebrated. Thus, you had enough time, yet you came just a day before the festival,” the judge said, according to Bar and Bench.