"Gutka and pan masala manufacturers have urged the court to set aside the government's July 19 notification and two regulations under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, under which the ban was made effective," Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sources informed FnB News in a chat over telephone.
The sources said there were already two hearings earlier, with one on July 27, 2012, whereby the FDA had already submitted an affidavit in favour of the gutka ban in the state with proper instructions.
Another was held recently, whereby the gutka manufacturers were given enough time to compile rejoinders for the coming hearing.
The sources then confirmed that the state cabinet had taken a decision to revoke the ban on July 12 on the same issue across the state and the state had also attempted a ban twice, in 2002 and in 2008, but had encountered several legal hurdles.
"Around five manufacturers, including Dhariwal Industres Pvt Ltd, Ghodavat Pan Masala Products and Rajnandini Foods Pvt Ltd have contended that the gutka that contained around six per cent tobacco had no nutritional value and hence could not be brought under the purview of the FSSA," they stated.
They had clearly stated that their business had come to a standstill owing to the ban, sources added.
Moreover, they mentioned that gutka was consumed not from a nutritional point of view or for the taste, but for the pleasure, and that mere oral consuption could not be brought under FSSA.
According to media reports, the monthly sale of gutka in Maharashtra is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore, and the government annually earns more than Rs 100 crore in taxes on it.
In regard to this, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice N M Jamdar would hear the petitions next week.
Also, the manufacturers in their petitions mentioned the use of magnesium carbonate, an ingredient in gutka, which was permitted in various foods and that lawmakers had also spared the ban on raw tobacco.
Not only this, the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, do not permit the use of carbon, calcium and magnesium in foods.
