HC asks Maha govt to reply on plea against plastic ban

The Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra government to file an affidavit, in response to a plea challenging the state's decision to ban the sale of plastic materials such as bags, plates, cups etc.
The Maharashtra Plastic Manufacturers' Association has filed the plea, challenging a public notice and an order issued by the environment department of the state government on January 2, through which it sought to impose a ban on the manufacture, sale, distribution and storage of plastic materials like cups, spoons, plates, bags, forks and so on.
A bench of justices A S Oka and P N Deshmukh asked the government to file an affidavit, stating by when it planned to implement the ban, within a week.

The petition claimed that the order was arbitrary and that it was passed without following the principles of natural justice.
It added that the order was also violative of the fundamental right of the petitioner association and its members to carry out business.