New Delhi, August 5The Supreme Court today said people found guilty of adulterating milk with chemicals and synthetics deserved to be put behind bars for life.
A three-member Bench, headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, suggested the Centre to consider amending the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 to raise the penalty for selling synthetic milk to life sentence as had already been done by Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha. At present, the Act provides for a maximum punishment of life sentence only if the “unsafe food” results in death. The minimum sentence is seven years.
The Bench issued 10 directives and guidelines to the Centre and the states on a PIL pleading for apex court’s intervention to stop the sale of such milk, particularly in Haryana, Uttarakhand, UP, Rajasthan and Delhi.
The Centre and the states “shall take appropriate steps to implement FSS Act, 2006 in a more effective manner,” the Bench said.
The states should set up committees at the state and district levels to review steps taken to curb adulteration as was being done in Maharashtra. A complaint mechanism must be evolved for checking corruption and other unethical practices of the food authorities and their officers, it said.
State food safety authorities should identify high-risk areas and ensure adequate lab-testing infrastructure for sampling of milk and milk products.
The court noted that contaminated water in adulterated milk caused stomach ailments, while the presence of chemicals could damage vital body organs.
No comments:
Post a Comment