The Central and Delhi governments have been ordered by the Delhi High Court to ensure compliance with the law that prohibits the manufacture, sale, and distribution of e-cigarettes, and to make sure that they are not offered for sale online.
Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad of a Division Bench also ordered the Delhi Police to conduct periodic checks close to educational institutions to make sure that these e-cigarettes are not being marketed.
The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage, and Advertisement) Act, 2019, was already being implemented, including raids, so the Bench declined to consider the PIL that asked for the creation of a committee under the supervision of the court to review its effectiveness.
“As stated above, raids are being carried out and the Act itself provides for a complete mechanism, this court does not find a reason to interfere. This court does not find it expedient to interfere under writ jurisdiction in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case,” said the bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad.
“However, the State is directed to ensure compliance of the Act of 2019 by conducting more periodical checks… In all localities in and around Delhi,” it said.
Petitioners Vinayak Gupta and Anubhav Tyagi argued there was a “vacuum” between the Act and its implementation and e-cigarettes are even “abundantly available within 5 km” of the high court but only two FIRs have been registered since the Act came into being.
e-cigarettes are extremely harmful as they cause damage to the DNA
The petitioners claimed that the DNA damage caused by e-cigarettes makes them extremely harmful, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Santosh Kumar Tripathi, the standing attorney for the Delhi government, stated that the administration was taking action against the sale of e-cigarettes both independently and as a result of complaints.
The petition demanded that the Center “immediately remove” all connected content from internet platforms and that authorities “forthwith seize the full contraband of the unlawful stock of e-cigarettes and other similar substances.”
In the plea, it was requested that the Act be swiftly used to take control of the e-cigarette industry, that the “source” of its unlawful sale in the city be identified, and that public awareness campaigns against its usage be implemented.
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