Patna: The Patna high court on Tuesday gave interim relief to tobacco producers, seeking lifting of ban on smokeless tobacco products, in its order to keep certain variety of pan masala and 'zarda' out of the purview of the ban.
Additional advocate general P N Shahi said, "The court said certain qualities of pan masala meet the specifications of the Food Safety and Standards Act and are allowed to be sold. So, such paan masala will not be in the ambit of the ban."
He further said the court also did not consider 'zarda', which is a flavoured tobacco, a food product until it is mixed with any other food product. "So, plain zarda has also been exempted from the ban," Shahi said, while quoting the court order.
The matter was heard by the bench of acting chief justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari and Justice Samrendra Pratap Singh. The court has listed the matter for next hearing on January 15. It has also permitted the state government to file a modification application against this order in Supreme Court.
The state government has already filed a transfer petition in the Supreme Court pleading all such cases be transferred there. That petition will be heard on January 20 in the apex court.
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