Supreme Court relief to PET, beverages industry, refuses to admit plea against HC order

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to admit a plea against a MP High Court order which had refused to ban the use of PET, a polymer resin of the polyester family, in packaging beverages. The high court had on June 26, 2013, refused to ban their use, refusing to entertain a PIL filed by NGO Prani Mitra Samiti (Pramisha).

On Friday, a two court bench, comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi, rejected the appeal against the MP High Court. It would have been better if the NGO had come up with some scientific details about its claims on PET, the CJI said, dismissing the plea.

The top court order came as a huge relief not only to beverages industry, but also to other PET user industries such as pharmaceutical products, drinking water, edible oil, milk, spices, honey, ketchup, pickles and confectionaries etc.

Pramisha had alleged that the use of PET bottles for beverages was harmful for the environment. It had also alleged that products such as country liquor stored in such containers become unfit for human consumption.

The high court, however, dismissed these claims on the ground that the issue of using PET bottles for packaging beverage has already been examined by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) which cleared its use.