The Supreme Court on Friday said that milk vendors who sell milk laced with harmful chemicals like detergent, caustic soda and urea should be given life imprisonment. The apex court observed that the six month penalty “was hardly a deterrent” for offenders and asked the Centre to implement the rule that has already been laid in four states—Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.
The Supreme Court also asked the government to amend the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) passed in 2006 to ensure stringent action against offenders.
The bench comprising of Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justices R Banumathi and UU Lalit said, “As observed by this court earlier, it will be in order if the central government considers making suitable amendments in the penal provisions at par with the provisions contained in the State amendments to the Indian Penal Code. It is also desirable that Union of India revisits the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to revise the punishment for adulteration making it more deterrent in cases where the adulterant can have an adverse impact on health.”
The top court noted that the Centre first raised concerns over the alarming situation four months ago. The government admitted that two out of every three people in the country drink adulterated milk which can cause serious health problems especially for children.
“Since in India traditionally infants/children are fed milk, adulteration of milk and its products is a concern and stringent measures need to be taken to combat it. The consumption of adulterated milk and adulterated milk products is hazardous to human health,” said the bench.
In 2011, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) report stated that almost 68% milk sold in the markets does not conform to the their standard.
The bench has issued ten directives to the government which include setting up labs and milk testing vans and spreading awareness regarding the issue.
