Srinivas Gowda, food safety joint director, said that cases were booked under the Food Safety Act as well as the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).
"The cases are filed in the respective district courts. Until the cases are resolved in courts, the confiscated samples are kept in the custody of courts, after which there are some specific methods through which they are destroyed so that they don't recirculate," he said.
As per last year's circular, the nodal officer for the district, along with food safety officers, are to implement the ban under powers conferred by the FSSA under sections 59 and 66.
"Section 59 which is on punishment for unsafe food, has four provisions. The most stringent punishment under this is life imprisonment, with a fine of Rs 5-10 lakh. The minimum is six months' imprisonment with a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Under Section 66, which penalizes offences by companies, the fine is Rs 1 lakh," Gowda said.
By comparison, COTPA carries a lighter punishment. According to a consultant with the state anti-tobacco cell which is responsible for enforcement and imposing fines under COTPA, there are 33 sections under which a person may be charged.
"When it comes to chewing tobacco, if the person operating the point of sale exhibits the products in his shop, he is charged under easy accessibility to minors under Section 6(a) which carries a fine of Rs 200 per violation. If there is an advertisement, he can be charged Rs 2,000 and it carries a 1-2 year prison term as well, under section 5. However, there is no section that charges the shop owner for selling to an adult," he said, adding that sections 5 and 7 of COTPA were non-compoundable, which means that after booking the case, it had to go on trial to decide the punishment.
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