Gutkha ban hits legal hurdle

The ban will not be imposed as the High Court has given a stay order, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dhanraj Khamatkar said. However, he did not clarify whether the state government is going to file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to vacate the stay.

The state government had taken a decision to ban gutkha and food containing mixture of tobacco and nicotine from May 20, following a notification issued by the central government on February 5. This was the third notification issued by the government for banning gutka.

The production, storage and distribution of gutkha would have been restricted with the implementation of the notification. Last year, gutkha containing high content of magnesium carbonate was banned by the state government.