Ahmedabad, Oct 21 The Gujarat government told the High Court on Wednesday that the right to carry on business cannot be stretched into a right to disregard the religious, historical and cultural character of a pilgrimage destination.
The government made the submission when the Gujarat HC was hearing a plea challenging a state notification banning sale and storage of non-veg food within 500-metre periphery of the famous Somnath Temple, a shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Defending the ban, the government told a bench of Justice Nisha M Thakor that Somnath cannot be viewed merely as a commercial town, ignoring its extraordinary religious, historical and spiritual significance to millions of Hindus across the country.
Government pleader GH Virk argued that nobody can claim an absolute fundamental right to sell non-vegetarian food at the doorstep of the temple or along the sacred routes traversed by millions of Hindu devotees.
Six restaurant owners have challenged the blanket ban imposed two months ago by the state government on the sale of non-vegetarian food within 500-metre periphery of the temple located in Gir Somnath district of Gujarat.
The notification identified several routes along the pilgrimage sites within a 500-metre radius where the ban has been enforced.
In its submission, the government pointed out that over 1.16 crore devotees visited the temple in the past nine months alone and underlined that Rishikesh, Haridwar, Amritsar and Mathura-Vrindavan, among other pilgrimage towns, have similar restrictions on the sale of non-veg food items.
The government further maintained that restaurants remained free to serve vegetarian food at their existing premises or carry on non-vegetarian trade outside the specifically notified areas, subject to applicable laws.
The restaurant owners challenging the ban have argued that they have been lawfully operating for several decades, holding valid licences, and their food establishments are located well beyond the Somnath Temple periphery.
The district magistrate had exceeded the powers by imposing a permanent prohibition upon an otherwise lawful trade, they insisted.
The restaurants are located in one of the half a dozen prohibited zones specified in the government’s notification issued in August this year that permanently bans sale and storage of non-veg food items.
The petitioners said the authorities forced them to shut their eateries.
They have challenged the notification on the ground that it violates their rights enshrined in Article 19(1)g of the Constitution and that the authorities cannot restrain a person from conducting any trade or livelihood without assigning a reason.
Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution grants all citizens the fundamental right to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade, or business.
(PTI News)
