India’s highest court has said that it cannot force the entire country to become vegetarian, after activist groups filed a case demanding a ban on meat exports.

The comments came as India marked the nine-day Hindu festival of Navratri, during which stoic followers stop eating meat, fish, eggs, and even onions and garlic as a mark of their devotion.

But the Indian Supreme Court was not convinced by the petition to ban meat from a group called the Healthy, Wealthy, Ethical, World Guide India Trust.

“You want the whole country to be vegetarian? Ban meat exports?” asked the justice.

The court added that it "cannot pass an order that everyone should become vegetarian” and that, in any case, export issues were for the government, not the judiciary, to decide.