‘On May 23, the state said imposing ban was under active consideration of the govt; now the matter has been referred to the Centre again’
The state government has told the Allahabad High Court that it has referred the matter of banning manufacture, sale and consumption of gutkha to the Central government.
The court, however, said that it was contrary to the stand taken by the state government in May, when it had maintained that banning sale of gutkha was under its active and serious consideration.
The Advocate General sought permission for filing written arguments, for which the court gave him three days. The other respondents, Union of India and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), have been asked to file their replies on September 17, the next date of hearing.
On Monday, hearing a PIL filed by Indian Dental Association (IDA) seeking ban on gutkha in the state, a division bench of Justices Amar Saran and Anurag Kumar, said: “On May 23, the advocate general had stated that so far as gutkha is concerned, the question of imposing ban/restrictions was under active consideration of the state government. However, contrary to the aforesaid, the state has filed a short counter affidavit today in the court wherein it is mentioned that the state government has again referred the matter to the Centre and sent a letter as late as September 5 seeking directions in the matter.”
Counsel for petitioner, Vishnu Behari Tewari, also pointed out before the court that already, after Madhya Pradesh, 11 more states including Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, have banned manufacture, sale and consumption of gutkha.
“Our argument is that states have been imposing bans on the basis of a regulation formulated by FSSAI of August 5, 2011, which says that tobacco and nicotine cannot be mixed in any food product. Gutkha and paan masala have been held as food products by the Supreme Court. The bans were challenged in the High Courts of Patna, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, but those petitions were disallowed. So, there is no reason why gutkha cannot be banned in the state,” said Tewari.
The court also took note of the petitioner’s counsel pointing out that the state government had lowered the taxes on gutkha, indicating that it was not intent on banning or putting reasonable restrictions on gutkha’s use.
The state government has told the Allahabad High Court that it has referred the matter of banning manufacture, sale and consumption of gutkha to the Central government.
The court, however, said that it was contrary to the stand taken by the state government in May, when it had maintained that banning sale of gutkha was under its active and serious consideration.
The Advocate General sought permission for filing written arguments, for which the court gave him three days. The other respondents, Union of India and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), have been asked to file their replies on September 17, the next date of hearing.
On Monday, hearing a PIL filed by Indian Dental Association (IDA) seeking ban on gutkha in the state, a division bench of Justices Amar Saran and Anurag Kumar, said: “On May 23, the advocate general had stated that so far as gutkha is concerned, the question of imposing ban/restrictions was under active consideration of the state government. However, contrary to the aforesaid, the state has filed a short counter affidavit today in the court wherein it is mentioned that the state government has again referred the matter to the Centre and sent a letter as late as September 5 seeking directions in the matter.”
Counsel for petitioner, Vishnu Behari Tewari, also pointed out before the court that already, after Madhya Pradesh, 11 more states including Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, have banned manufacture, sale and consumption of gutkha.
“Our argument is that states have been imposing bans on the basis of a regulation formulated by FSSAI of August 5, 2011, which says that tobacco and nicotine cannot be mixed in any food product. Gutkha and paan masala have been held as food products by the Supreme Court. The bans were challenged in the High Courts of Patna, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, but those petitions were disallowed. So, there is no reason why gutkha cannot be banned in the state,” said Tewari.
The court also took note of the petitioner’s counsel pointing out that the state government had lowered the taxes on gutkha, indicating that it was not intent on banning or putting reasonable restrictions on gutkha’s use.
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