Supreme Court favours life sentence for milk adulteration, asks Centre to amend act

A bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said on  Friday "it is desirable that Centre revisits the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to revise punishment for adulteration making it more deterrent in cases where the adulterant can have an adverse impact on health."

The apex court said the present six-month imprisonment is hardly a deterrent, and  it will be in order, if the Centre considers making suitable amendments in penal provisions at par with the provisions contained in the state amendments to the IPC.

Voicing concern, the bench said, “Milk is the only source of nourishment for infants and a major part of the diet for growing children in tender age and if no effective measure is taken to ensure the purity of milk, health of the children will be adversely affected.”

The Supreme Court asked the State Food Safety Authority (SFSA) to identify high risk areas where chances of milk adulteration are more during festivals.

It also directed states to set up a website, specifying the functioning and responsibilities of food safety authorities and also creating awareness about complaint mechanisms, to prevent adulteration of milk.

The verdict came on a PIL filed by Swami Achyutanand Tirth highlighting the issue of increasing levels of adulteration in milk available across the country.