LUCKNOW, July 16 -- King George's Medical University's (KGMU) decision to ban the cooking and serving of non-vegetarian food in all hostel messes sparked a controversy on Wednesday as religious leaders, doctors and faculty members questioned the scientific basis of the move and urged the administration to withdraw the order.

The controversy erupted after the university directed all 18 major and three smaller hostel messes to stop cooking and serving non-vegetarian food following governor Anandiben Patel's recent inspection of the campus, during which she flagged concerns over food quality and non-vegetarian food being prepared in some hostel messes.

Prominent Islamic scholar Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali said the decision was inc...