SC in favour of allowing export of Endosulfan

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today favoured export of unused stock of Endosulfan insecticide manufactured in the country and said that the detailed order on the mechanism to sell it to overseas company would be passed on December 13.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia said that if other countries want to import the agrochemical, then it can be allowed.

The court also sought explanation from CPI-M's youth wing Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), which has filed petition seeking ban on manufacturing of the insecticide, for objecting to the proposal for allowing the export.

"Why do you want the poison to remain in the country. There should be common sense approach. If it can be exported, then let it happen," the bench, also comprising justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar, said.

"Why are you bothered about the other countries if they want to import it," the bench further said.

It said that the order regarding how to export the banned substance out of country would be passed on Tuesday.

The bench had earlier, on September 30, allowed the company manufacturing Endosulfan to export nearly 1,100 tonnes of the pesticide to meet their contractual obligations while maintaining the ban on its use and production.