india

Updated: Oct 02, 2019 01:31 IST

The Calcutta high court on Tuesday asked the Centre to file its affidavits against the petitions challenging its decision last month to ban e-cigarettes in the country

The court ordered that the existing stocks of e-cigarettes can’t be disposed of as stated in Centre’s ordinance of September 18, till further orders but refused to lift the ban on e-cigarettes.

A single judge bench of Justice Arindam Sinha ordered that the stock would have to be inventoried by a government-authorized officer at the premises of the manufacturers.

Justice Sinha directed the government to file affidavits against the petitions by November 5 and the petitioners to file their rejoinders by November 13.

“The ban on e-cigarettes will continue. An interim order was passed in which the bench said that the stock of e-cigarettes cannot be transferred. It would remain in the premises of manufacturers. A government authorized official can only draw an inventory of the existing stock,” said Vipual Kundalia, a counsel for the Centre.

The Union government notified the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement) Ordinance 2019 on September 18.

While Clause 5a of the ordinance said that the stock would have to be surrendered, clause 5b said that the existing stock would have to be disposed of by a government authorised officer.

“This can’t be done anymore. The government authorised officer would now have to come to the manufacturer and can just draw up an inventory of the stock,” said Soumya Ray Chowdhury, advocate for Woke Vapours, one of the two companies that challenged the ordinance.

The bench also ordered the petitioners Plume Vapour Pvt Ltd and Woke Vapor Pvt Ltd and the respondent Union government to file their affidavits. The matter would be next heard on November 14.

Additional solicitor general Aman Lekhi said the charm and attraction of e-cigarettes are not restricted to any particular age. “While 28% of Indians use tobacco, 10% out of this are smokers. Out of this, only around 4% smoke cigarettes. But e-cigarettes would affect the rest 72% if not checked,” he said.

“Parliamentary proceedings reveal that the Centre either had no plan to regulate or prohibit e-cigarettes as of July 26, 2019, during the monsoon session of the Parliament, or had the plan of bringing in the ordinance between two sessions of the Parliament,” senior advocate Anindya Mitra appearing for Woke Vapors told the court of justice, Arindam Sinha.

According to the World Health Organisation tobacco kills more than 10 lakh people in the country, each year.

“One thing is clear. No one can say that e-cigarettes are more harmful than cigarettes. It is like painting a dog with a bad name and hanging it,” said Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the senior advocate representing Plume Vapour.