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By Wire Chronicle Bureau•Saturday, October 31, 2026 at 10:11 AM2 min readVerified Wire Report
Gujarat High Court Division Bench Puts Interim Halt on Single Judge Order Lifting Somnath Non-Veg Food Ban
Wire Chronicle • Verified Wire Dispatch
AHMEDABAD — In a swift legal development on Thursday, a division bench of the Gujarat High Court instituted a temporary stay against a single-judge verdict that had previously invalidated an administrative ban on the public sale of non-vegetarian food items within the Somnath region.
The initial controversy stems from an executive directive issued by the local district collector, which prohibited vendors from offering meat and other non-vegetarian products in proximity to the revered temple site. Earlier, Justice Nisha Thakore had ruled against the validity of this restriction, providing temporary relief to local traders before the state administration escalated the matter to an intra-court appeal.
According to reports by The Hindu, legal representatives for the Gujarat government moved an expedited petition to challenge the single-judge decision, successfully arguing for the necessity of maintaining the administrative status quo. The division bench agreed with the state's urgent appeal, officially directing that the collector's notification restricting non-veg food commerce will continue to hold force for the time being.
As the legal battle proceeds, the ultimate resolution will likely set a significant precedent regarding the balance between local executive authority and commercial freedoms near religious landmarks across the region. The division bench is expected to schedule further hearings to deliberate on the constitutional and administrative merits of the restrictive notification.