Kerala HC stays State government order slashing bottled water price

Kerala High Court on Wednesday stayed the Kerala Government's order reducing the price of bottled water in the state from Rs 20 to Rs 13, saying that the State has no power to regulate the price of drinking water under the Food Security Act.

Single Bench of Justice PV Kunhikrishnan sought the view of the Central Government on the matter. Court stayed the order on a petition filed by Kerala Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers Association (KPDA).

The court remarked that, "The State lacks jurisdiction in declaring packaged drinking water as an essential article under the Kerala Essential Articles Control Act, 1986 in the light of the Food Safety Act, 2006 and the order regulating the price of the packaged drinking water is legally unsustainable. But the packaged drinking water is now sold at different prices at different places.

The State Government should come with a proposal to regulate the same in consultation with the Union of India."

The stay order further reads that, "As per the Section 3 of the Kerala Essential Articles Control Act 1986, the power to control production, supply, distribution of essential commodities are vested with the Centre. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has issued Food Safety and Standards (Food Products, Standard and Food Additives) Regulations 2011 bringing in various food products under the purview of the aforesaid regulation.

"Packaged drinking water" comes under Article 2.10.8 of the said regulation. Article 254 says that if any provision of law made by a State legislature is repugnant to any provisions of law made by Parliament, which Parliament is competent to enact or to any provisions of existing law with respect to one of the matters enumerated in the concurrent list, the existing law shall prevail and the law made by the legislature of the State shall to the extent of repugnancy, be void."

Earlier last year, the state government reduced the price of bottled drinking water from Rs 20 to Rs 13.

( With inputs from ANI )

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