Three Jain organisations and a businessman have filed public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court seeking to ban advertisements of meat and meat products in print and electronic media, Bar and Bench reported on Sunday.

“If some people want to eat non-vegetarian foods, they are free to do the same but showing/displaying non-vegetarian foods in the houses of people who are vegetarian is not good,” their plea said. “The same affects their [vegetarians] constitutional and fundamental rights.”

The petitioners – Shree Atma Kamal Labdhisurishwarji Jain Gyanrnandir Trust, Sheth Motisha Religious and Charitable Trust, Shri Vardhaman Parivar and businessman Jyotindra Ramniklal Shah – said that the advertisement infringes on their right to live peacefully and tamper with the minds of children.

Besides a ban on advertisements, the petitioners have also called for a warning on packaged non-vegetarian food saying “consumption of non-veg food is harmful to health and environment”, according to Live Law.

The plea added, “There is already a ban on advertising alcohol and cigarettes by [the] government and similar to alcohol and cigarettes, non-vegetarian foods are not healthy, causes damage to the environment and instigates youngsters to consume them.”

The petition has sought relief from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the State, the Press Council of India, the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department and the Advertising Standards Council of India.

They have also named companies such as Licious, Freshtohome Foods and Meatigo as respondents.