On February 10, 2020 the Bench of the Delhi High Court consisting of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Hari Shankar was hearing a matter filed by Petitioner's Advocates Gaurav Kumar and Vaibhav Gupta seeking a special investigative team to investigate allegations imposed on Respondent’s Company. There is a request made to the bench for issuance of the writ of Mandamus to the authorities, who are concerned with safeguarding the fundamental rights of the workers in the Respondent’s company. It is alleged by the Petitioner that the packaging machines are manipulated by installing boosters which increases the productivity thereby magnifying the production of tobacco substantially. The plea requested to investigate the record book as it isn’t been maintained by the company properly and tax isn’t paid correctly. There is a failure of waste management, due to which waste is disposed of in open fields, resulting in air pollution and release of toxic gases. In the plea, guidelines which need to be established have been violated by the manufacturing company and there is complaint of usage plastic in packing which is contravention to the Judgment of the Supreme Court in Ankur Guthka v. Indian Asthma Care as well as Plastic Management Rules, 2016. 

Apart from this, the Petitioner cited the violation of various legislations for welfare such as the Minimum Wages Act, Delhi Shops and Management Act, Industrial Disputes Act, Trade Unions Act, etc. The Respondent’s Company is advertising digitally about the health benefits after consuming and replacement for cigarettes but there is an absence of statutory warning on the said packet. Article 13 of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is violated by advertising the advertisement of ‘Chaini Khaini’, it says, ban surrogate advertisement for tobacco products. The Petitioner filed the plea seeking enforcement of fundamental rights of children working in the Respondent’s Company concerning packaging, manufacturing of products along with selling it. 

Thereby, the Bench issued a notice to the Health Ministry among others, in a plea seeking a ban on the surrogate advertisement of the tobacco product ‘Chaini Khaini’.

Author: Asif Iqbal