Bill to curb food, milk & drug adulteration cleared

Mumbai: In a bid to curb milk, food and drugs adulteration, the Maharashtra Assembly has passed a bill to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Thursday. Now, the offenders will be punished with imprisonment for life and also be liable to fine. The amendment bill was passed amid chaos over the demands to table the report of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission by the Opposition members on Thursday.

The government has proposed to amend sections 272 to 276 of the IPC, which provides for offences relating to adulteration of food, drink, drug or medical preparations to make it noxious and their sale. The offence will now be cognisable and non-bailable on the lines of the amendments made by the state governments of Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Food and civil supplies minister Girish Bapat informed the legislative Assembly that due to adulteration, thousands of people are killed in the state and country. There are loopholes in the existing laws, people get scot-free. The offender commits a crime in the morning and gets a bail in the evening. They will now be afraid of the amended law. The punishment has been extended from six months to life imprisonment.

The statement of objects and reasons of the bill reads that the practice of adulteration of milk and other food articles as well as drugs is a serious threat to health of the public in general.

It further says that section 59 of the Food and Safety and Standards Act, (2006) provides for different punishments for offences such as manufacturing for sale or storing or selling or distributing any drug, which is adulterated or spurious. Under the said section 27 of the Drugs Act punishment of imprisonment for a term is from ten years to imprisonment for life and fine is provided and the offence under said section 27 is cognisable.