A division bench of the Gujarat high court has stayed a ruling allowing non-vegetarian food sales near Somnath temple
The division bench will hear the matter next on December 26. It directed that the Collector’s notification banning the sale of non-vegetarian food will continue for now, news agency PTI reported.
The bench said the notification dated August 10, 2026, restricting the “preparation, storage and sale” of non-vegetarian food within a 500-metre radius of the Somnath temple, along with six specifically identified roads connecting important religious destinations in the area, would continue, PTI reported. “Somnath is not an ordinary commercial town but has extraordinary spiritual importance for millions of Hindus,” the government said. (With agency inputs) You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Ahmedabad | Silver Rate in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad | Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Petrol Price in Ahmedabad | Diesel Price in Ahmedabad | CNG Price in Ahmedabad | LPG Price in Ahmedabad Stay updated with the latest Ahmedabad news. A division bench of Chief Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak and Justice Nirzar Desai stayed the judgment of Justice Nisha Thakore following an urgent appeal by the Gujarat government. The Collector’s order prohibits the sale of non-vegetarian food along designated pilgrimage routes. These roads form part of the sacred Somnath pilgrimage circuit. Hotel and restaurant owners contended in their petitions that the restrictions infringed on their fundamental right to carry on a lawful business and earn their livelihood. The state government submitted that the constitutional freedom to carry on a business did not mean a person could conduct every form of commercial activity at every location, irrespective of the religious, historical and cultural significance of the place. Download the TOI App.
Earlier in the day, Justice Thakore allowed petitions filed by owners of hotels and restaurants operating near the Somnath temple in Gir Somnath district and set aside the notification. The government immediately appealed against the single judge’s order before the bench headed by Chief Justice Pathak, which stayed it late in the evening. AHMEDABAD: Hours after a single judge of the Gujarat high court struck down a ban on the sale of non-vegetarian food near the famous Somnath temple , a two-member bench stayed the ruling on Friday.