We are apparently a free country. 

That means one should have the option to eat whatever one wants to eat. 
People aren't asking to kill all the cows in the country, they are not asking to 'slaughter' an endangered species (last I checked, there were at least 3 cows outside my lane, and about 50 more on my 30min drive to work), and they are not asking for anything that the rest of man kind does not already have available.

The problem is not that they are banning something specific that we cannot live without, but that they are banning something altogether. Does the average Indian Citizen not have the right to eat what he would like (within reason).

They are banning meat that is not harmful to the consumer, meat that does not require killing an endangered species for fun. If this is a religious thing, and you don't eat the meat of an animal because it is sacred, you just don't order it when you have the menu in front of you. This is, according to the Act, a case of "Animal Preservation". What of the Peacock feathers being sold all over the place? Does that not require "Animal Preservation"? What about the BMC killing hundreds of stray dogs rather than providing vaccinations and shelter? Is that not calling for "Animal Preservation"? 

Super simple stuff, Maharashtra. There is no need for a ban on Beef, and definitely no need for the criminalisation of anyone who exercises his/her right to eat it.