Gujarat HC stays ruling against ban on non-veg near Somnath temple

The Gujarat high court on Friday stayed a single judge’s order quashing restrictions on the sale of non-vegetarian food along designated pilgrimage routes near the Somnath temple, reversing the relief granted to hotel and restaurant owners within hours.

Justice Nisha M Thakore had earlier on Friday allowed petitions filed by owners of hotels and restaurants serving non-vegetarian food in Prabhas Patan in Gir Somnath district and set aside a notification issued by the district magistrate on August 10, 2026. The judge had also rejected the state government’s request to stay the operation of the judgment, prompting it to move the division bench.

The division bench of chief justice Manash Ranjan Pathak and justice Nirzar Desai took up the state’s appeal after the government sought urgent intervention. The restrictions will remain in force pending further proceedings.

The notification issued by the Gir Somnath district magistrate prohibits the preparation, storage and sale of non-vegetarian food within a 500-metre radius of the Somnath Mahadev temple and along six designated roads connecting religious sites in the pilgrimage area.

The restrictions cover routes connecting Bhalka Tirth, Bhidiya Circle, Shankh Circle, Safari Circle, Gita Mandir and Hamirji Circle, among other locations.

The hotel and restaurant owners challenged the notification, arguing that the restrictions infringed their fundamental right to carry on a lawful business and earn a livelihood.

The state government argued that the right to conduct business did not confer an unrestricted entitlement to operate every commercial activity at every location, regardless of its religious and cultural significance.

The government maintained that the restrictions had to be considered in the context of Somnath’s religious importance and the movement of pilgrims through the area.

Somnath is regarded as the first of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. The surrounding Prabhas Kshetra includes Bhalka Tirth, associated with the final earthly journey of Lord Krishna, along with Triveni Sangam, Gita Mandir and other religious sites.

The division bench’s intervention on Friday restored the restrictions after the single judge had set aside the notification earlier in the afternoon. The dispute over the limits of commercial activity around the temple will now proceed before the court.

In a separate matter a day earlier on October 29, the Gujarat High Court questioned a four-month closure order issued by the Radhanpur municipality against around 30 meat, poultry and fish shops, slaughterhouses and restaurants serving non-vegetarian food during Chaturmas. The municipality had cited the visit of Jain monks to the town after 60 years and the expected arrival of devotees. It withdrew the order after the court questioned its legal basis, following which the petitioners withdrew their case.