Gutka, pan masala ban to remain as SC stays Madras HC order quashing state govt's ban

New Delhi [India], April 25 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Madras High Court order which had quashed the 2018 notification banning the sale of gutka, pan masala, and other tobacco products in Tamil Nadu.

A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna while staying the High Court order clarified that in the event the manufacturers have a case that their activities are not covered by the notification issued by the State they may approach the appropriate forum to seek redressal.

Tamil Nadu government had approached the apex court challenging an order of the Madras High Court quashing a May 2018 notification prohibiting the sale, manufacture and transport of gutkha and other tobacco-based products.

The State government said that the orders of the Food Safety Commissioner banning the sale, storage, manufacture, etc. of gutkha and other tobacco products are backed by Regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011.

The High Court had set aside a notification issued by the Food Safety Commissioner on May 23, 2018, banning the manufacture, storage, transport, distribution and sale of gutkha, pan masala and other chewable food products containing tobacco/nicotine as ingredients.

Allowing the Food Safety Commissioner to impose a permanent ban on tobacco products by issuing successive notifications year after year would amount to conferring a power that was not provided in the law, the High Court had said.