On Tuesday, the High Court of Bombay directed the State Govt to file an affidavit in reply to a PIL which sought directions to constitute a special task force led by the CBI to deal with manufacturing, selling, trading of banned products including gutkha, khaini, zarda & other products which could contribute towards the spread of Coronavirus. The plea seeks stringent laws to implement the ban as well as immediate action against cartels, hoarders & transporters from Madhya Pradesh.

A division bench of Justices AA Sayed & SP Tavade, while hearing the public interest litigation filed by Advocate Arvind Singh, was informed by Senior Lawyer Jamshed Cama along with advocates Anil Mishra & Jindagi Shah that one of the contributors to the spread of COVID-19 was banned products like gutkha, khaini & zarda. Cama submitted that as Covid-19 spreads through droplets from the mouth, infected persons who consumed these products could transfer the infection through their saliva when they spit in public places. Cama further submitted that smoking could also result in the spread of the virus.

Cama further submitted that though the Food Safety & Standards (Prohibition & Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011 banned the use of gutkha & nicotine, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra had banned the use of these products from time to time through orders. He also submitted that the Maharashtra FDA had, on February 7, announced that persons found manufacturing gutkha would be booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOCA) Act.

He submitted that as the ban was in place, the products were coming from Madhya Pradesh after the district magistrate of Indore allowed pan masala wholesalers & retailers to sell their products outside the district. He submitted that a large consignment of gutkha had entered Maharashtra which posed a huge threat to the lives of the citizens, & hence immediate steps should be taken to stop it.

Cama stressed there was an urgent need to form a special task force to be led by Central Bureau of Investigation to unearth the trade routes, manufacturing units & selling points to stop the use of gutkha & related products.

After hearing the submissions, the Court directed the state to file an affidavit in response to the plea & posted the matter for hearing on Sept 1. 

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