Supreme Court refuses to lift meat ban near Somnath temple in Gujarat
· Scroll
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The Supreme Court on Friday refused to lift a ban on the sale of meat imposed by the state government near the Somnath temple in Gujarat, Bar and bench reported.
The court said it had to “maintain a balance” and asked the Gujarat High Court to expedite the hearing
“We request the High Court to decide appeal expeditiously within a period of 2 months,” it ordered.
The court was hearing a petition by six restaurant owners, who said that the ban would be detrimental to businesses in the vicinity and argued that 80% of the country’s population consumes meat.
The petition challenged an August 10 notification banning the sale, storage, distribution and cooking of meat along roads leading to and within half a km of the temple in Veraval.
On October 31, the Gujarat High Court struck down the ban, only to reverse its order within four hours.
At 3 pm, a single-judge bench allowed the plea and lifted the ban. Immediately after the ruling, the state government sought time to challenge it before a division bench.
The government pleader argued that the position on the ground had not changed since August 10 and requested that the operation of the single-judge bench’s order be kept in abeyance for five working days, The Indian Express reported.
However, the judge declined to keep the...