Kerala HC sets aside Govt. ban on sale of Colas

Kochi, Sep 22: The Kerala High Court today set aside the state government decision of August ten to ban the production and sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola in the state.

A division bench consisting of Chief Justice V K Bali and Justice M Ramachandran held that the state government had no power under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) to ban food products.

The court also held that the government had acted merely on the basis of the report of the Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based NGO, without waiting for the report of the Central Government analyst.

In separate petitions, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd and Pepsi India Holdings Private Ltd had last month sought the quashing of the state government's ban order of August 10 and order of the Director of Health Services of August 11.

They also wanted a direction prohibiting the state government from taking action against them.

UNI