Friday, February 11 2005 18:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today (Feb 11, 2005) issued notices to all States and Union Territories on a PIL seeking a ban on manufacturers to mix gutka with whitening chemical agents like magnesium carbonate, which were carcinogenic apart from having a damaging effect on vital body parts.

A Bench comprising Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Tarun Chatterjee, which had earlier issued notice to Union Government on the PIL filed by Indore Consumer Forum through its secretary Arif M Khan, asked the Centre to file its response to the petition within six weeks.

"The sale of tobacco (gutka) is in hundred of thousands of packets a day across the country and the manufacturers of Chewing Tobacco with impunity manufacture and sell adulterated gutka and play with the lives of millions of people," the petitioner said.

It contended that the whitening agents, mixed with tobacco to prepare the gutkas ready for sales have been banned under the provisions of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.

The NGO said "despite the fact that the use of chemicals like Magnesium carbonate is specifically prohibited under the 1954 Act, nearly all leading manufacturers use such chemicals to avoid occurrence of red colour at the time of chewing."

One of the leading gutka manufacturers, Dahriwal Manikchand, today sought impleadment in the proceedings before the Court and the counsel for the petitioner, senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi, said it did not have any objection to it being a party in the proceedings.