Bombay HC notices on milk adulteration

Taking a serious view of milk adulteration in the city, the Bombay high court on Wednesday issued notices to the Maharashtra government, the Union ministry of health services and family welfare, the Maharashtra Dairy Federation and Maharashtra Milk Distributors’ Association.

A division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice Roshan Dalvi was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by homoeopath Sreedevi Mehta, seeking action against the large-scale adulteration of milk in Mumbai.

The PIL urged the court to direct the setting up of an agency that would employ a ‘milk mark’ as certification and a 24-hour helpline for complaints.

The petition states: “...people are unknowingly consuming urea, detergents, bad sugar, harmful chemicals and several other contaminants by drinking adulterated milk every day.”

The Maharashtra Milk Distributors’ Association sought to intervene in the PIL, saying it too faced the problem of milk adulteration and wanted to help find a solution.