SC refuses to entertain PIL seeking health warnings on liquor bottles
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a direction to government authorities to ensure health warnings on liquor bottles like for tobacco products, saying the courts would not interfere in policy matters.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and justices Indira Banerjee and S Ravindra Bhat said such decisions fall under the policy making domain of the government.
Liquor is 10 times more harmful than cigarettes. Health warnings on cigarette packets were made mandatory by court orders and the same direction can be passed here also, PIL petitioner and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay said.
These all are policy matters. The courts cannot interfere in these matters, the bench said in the order.
The bench said in the case of liquor, there has been some suggestions that it is good for health if taken in some moderation.
Besides seeking health warnings, the PIL has also sought a direction that, like EIA (environmental impact assessment), which is mandatory for developmental projects having an impact on the environment, the health impact assessment (HIA) of products be made mandatory before declaring them fit for human consumption.
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No 'bacterial infection' found in bodies of 4 Mumbai family members who died after eating watermelon
Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.
After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.
As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.
"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.
The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.
"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.
