The Gujarat High Court is hearing a challenge by six non-vegetarian restaurant owners against Gujarat government’s permanent ban on the sale and storage of non-vegetarian food in specified areas around the Somnath temple, with the dispute raising questions over business rights, religious sentiment and the conduct of local officials.
The petitioners have alleged that the notification issued in August violates their fundamental right to trade and earn a livelihood under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. Their advocate, Asrar Mansuri, argued that officials cannot stop people from carrying out a lawful business without reasonable justification and alleged that authorities have been repeatedly harassing hotel and restaurant owners.
The state government has defended the restriction by citing the need to protect the religious sentiments of pilgrims visiting the temple. Its submission is that the ban applies to six specified areas, including a 500-metre radius around the Somnath temple, where visitors may encounter non-vegetarian food products while using the main routes leading to the shrine.
The case also came under scrutiny after the petitioners told the court that the Mamlatdar obtained signed undertakings from all six restaurant owners at a police outpost during the first hearing on October 7. The undertakings reportedly stated that the businesses would sell only vegetarian food in the future.
The timing of the undertakings prompted the High Court to question the government. The court asked why the Mamlatdar had taken signatures from the restaurant owners on the same day that the matter was being heard. The episode has added an administrative conduct issue to the wider legal dispute over the notification itself.
The challenge therefore involves two connected questions: whether the state can restrict the sale and storage of non-vegetarian food in designated areas to protect the religious feelings of pilgrims, and whether such a restriction unlawfully interferes with the petitioners’ constitutionally protected trade and livelihood rights.
The source report said the next hearing was scheduled for October 16. The court’s further proceedings will determine how the government responds to the questions over the undertakings and how it justifies the scope and permanence of the restriction around Somnath temple.
