Implement tea e-auction, Kerala HC tells Tea Board

A single bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Tea Board to implement e-auctions in tea trading at Kochi by implementing recommendations and findings of the report of the advocates’ commission appointed by the court.

Justice V Giri, the single judge, also directed the board to rectify various lapses in the new trading system based on the report of the commission. The judge also instructed Tea Buyers Association (TBA), the petitioner in the case, to approach the court if there are any practical difficulties in the conduct of the system after the implementation of e-auction.

The court had earlier appointed a commission of advocates to study the issue and submit a report. The commission had submitted its report and the single judge ordered TBA and Tea Board to file their counter arguments on the findings of the report.

Tea Board had implemented e-auction in Kochi trading, five to six weeks back which evoked strong resistance from traders. The auction created a lot of hassles for buyers and sellers and the trading was affected for 2-3 days.

Technical problems with the software used for e-auction, developed by NSE-IT, had affected the smooth conduct of the trading. The traders said that the implementation of the new system was to help big players and would create a lot of problem for medium and small traders. The court, then, directed to continue with the public outcry system for trading and appointed the commission.