The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Centre's plea for more time to notify the law to regulate the use of plastic pouches for ‘gutka' and other tobacco products and asked it to come out with the notification in two days.
A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly rejected the request counsel for the Union government made on the ground that the eight weeks the court granted on December 7 last was due to expire in the next two days. Rules had already been framed in September 2009, counsel said, and only a formal notification was required.
To this, Justice Singhvi said: “We are not going to give you more time. No question of giving more time. You should notify the law within two days available to you. You would violate the court's order at your peril.”
The Bench was hearing petitions filed by ‘gutka,' pan masala and chewing tobacco manufacturers seeking modification of the December 7 order banning the use of plastic as packaging material by March 1.
Senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for one of the petitioners, said their business would be affected and they might have to close shop as the government did not come out with the rules. The Bench posted the matter for further hearing on February 10 while declining the request of Centre's counsel for more time.
On December 7, the Bench ordered a ban on the sale of tobacco, ‘gutka' and pan masala in plastic pouches from March 1. It had asked the manufacturers to switch to non-plastic packaging. It was hearing a batch of petitions filed by the manufacturers challenging a Rajasthan High Court order upholding such a ban in the State.
