Supreme Court leaves the food ban around the Somnath temple standing and asks the Gujarat High Court to decide fast

6 November 2026

The Supreme Court has declined to stay an order that bans non-vegetarian food within 500 metres of the Somnath temple in Gujarat.
A Bench of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice P B Varale asked the Gujarat High Court to decide the pending appeals within about two months.
The ban came from a notification of the District Magistrate of Gir Somnath, issued under Sections 33(1)(w)(ii) and 33(6) of the Gujarat Police Act, 1951, covering the area around Prabhas Patan in Veraval taluka.
A single judge of the High Court had struck the notification down as violating Article 19(1)(g), the right to practise any profession or carry on any trade.
A Division Bench then stayed that judgment and kept the notification in force until the appeals are heard.
Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi appeared for the eateries and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the State.
The Bench noted that a pending nine-judge reference on Article 25 would bear on the question.