HC upholds mandatory jute packaging for sugar industry
Bengaluru : The Karnataka High Court has rejected the petitions brought by the South Indian Sugar Mills Association (Karnataka) and the Indian Sugar Mills Association seeking to exempt sugar from the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act of 1987.
The petitions had challenged Union government notifications mandating that 20% of sugar be packed in jute bags, according to a Deccan Herald report. While foodgrains must be packed entirely in jute bags, the requirement for sugar is limited to one-fifth of production.
The associations argued that the mandate was intended only to promote the jute industry and raised health concerns, claiming that the use of jute batching oil in weaving jute bags is tumorigenic and could contaminate sugar. They also cited instances of governments in Punjab, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh flagging similar risks.
Rejecting the plea, the court noted that the Supreme Court had earlier upheld a 100% jute packaging mandate for sugar and cement industries, stressing its role in advancing socio-economic justice for jute farmers and workers under the Directive Principles of State Policy.
“Once the compulsion of 100% packaging upon the sugar industry was upheld by the Supreme Court, the present grievance against a mere 20% reservation can scarcely aspire to higher favour,” Justice M. Nagaprasanna observed.
The court also pointed out that jute batching oil used in bag manufacturing is sealed with a thin layer to prevent leakage, moisture absorption, and pilferage of sugar. Whether it poses carcinogenic risks, the court said, is a matter for the Standing Advisory Committee to evaluate.
Concluding, the bench held that the 20% mandate for jute packaging in the sugar industry was “neither arbitrary nor unreasonable.”
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4 held for sexually assaulting woman, girl on moving bus after social media alert in UP's Agra
Agra (UP) (PTI): Four people were arrested, after a prompt response by police following a social media alert, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and a girl inside a moving bus here, officials said on Tuesday.
According to an official police statement, at 12:27 am on April 27, information was received on the social media platform X about an incident of sexual assault on a bus travelling from Kanpur to Ahmedabad, which was approaching Namner crossing in Agra.
Acting under the direction of Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, the Agra Police social media team immediately alerted the Rakabganj police station within minutes and coordinated with the victims to confirm the incident and obtain the exact location, it stated.
Police teams launched intensive checking at Namner crossing and intercepted the bus as it reached the spot. The four accused involved in the incident were apprehended on the spot, and legal action was initiated against them, the statement said.
The police said the swift response and coordination between the social media team and field units ensured timely action, bringing relief to the victims and other passengers, who expressed gratitude towards the police, it added.
