Mumbai:
A court in Mumbai has refused to stay the beef ban that came into effect in Maharashtra last month.
The Bombay High Court, responding to a petition challenging the ban, however, warned against "coercive steps for possession."
The petition had said that the ban violates the fundamental rights of a person to have his choice of food.
The state government argued that consuming beef is not a fundamental right.
A law that came into force on March 4 bans the slaughter of calves and bullocks and allows only the consumption of buffaloes, which give inferior quality beef. Those found keeping or consuming beef can face five years in prison and a fine of Rs. 10,000, if convicted.
The ban has been widely criticised and there have been many protests against it. Beef traders claim they will lose their jobs and also that the cost of other meat will shoot up.
Beef costs almost a third of mutton and is a popular red meat choice. Buffalo meat is largely exported and only eaten by 25 per cent of beef eaters.