Ban gutka or we will, high court tells Akhilesh government

The Allahabad High Court Tuesday directed the Akhilesh Yadav government to spell out its stand on banning gutka (tobacco pan masala) in Uttar Pradesh within two weeks, and warned if it failed to act, the court would itself slap a ban.

The directive came from a bench of Justices Amar Sharan  and Anurag Kumar while hearing a petition by the Uttar Pradesh chapter of the Indian Dental Association, contending that the consumption of gutka was detrimental to oral and overall health and hence should be banned.

The next date of hearing on the matter has been fixed for Oct 10. Pointing out the habit could lead to the scourge of cancer, the petition also added that 12 states in the country have already banned the manufacture and sale of gutka.

The petitioners also alleged that due to huge revenue profits coming from gutka sales, the state government was dragging its feet on taking a decisive action on the matter.