The Gujarat High Court has directed Patan municipality to decide fresh No Objection Certificate (NOC) applications from meat and chicken shop owners by December 4, 2026, offering a defined legal timeline to businesses that have remained closed since January.
The order followed a challenge by shop owners after the municipality rejected their NOC applications on March 20. Without the municipal NOCs, the owners could not obtain registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act to operate their meat shops or slaughterhouses, according to the report by Times of India – Ahmedabad.
The court directed the applicants to submit fresh NOC applications by November 13, 2026. The nagarpalika must then consider the applications in accordance with the law and address the contentions raised by the applicants before communicating its decision.
The dispute began after the municipality issued a list of 17 criteria in February for meat and chicken shop owners seeking NOCs. The applicants later argued before the High Court that the local body was demanding documents and clarifications that belonged within the jurisdiction of food-safety authorities rather than the municipality.
The municipality had earlier told the High Court in March that it would decide the applications according to law. It subsequently rejected the applications on March 20, prompting the shop owners to return to court and challenge the decision.
Justice Nikhil Kariel also clarified that the municipality could forward the applications to the district-level committee if it considered that committee to be the appropriate authority. This direction addresses the question of which public body should determine the applications and prevents the licensing process from remaining unresolved solely because of an institutional dispute.
The court has required the nagarpalika to place its decision on the NOC applications on record before it and provide a copy to the petitioners. If the decision is adverse, the petitioners may amend their petitions to challenge it before the High Court.
The matter highlights the administrative chain that businesses selling regulated food products must navigate: municipal permissions are required for the NOCs, while food-safety registration is necessary to operate under the Food Safety and Standards Act. In Patan, the absence of the municipal approval has prevented the applicants from completing the process needed to reopen their establishments.
The immediate next steps are the filing of fresh applications by November 13 and a decision by the municipality or the appropriate district-level committee by December 4. The authority’s decision will then be placed before the Gujarat High Court.
