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Milk adulteration: Chennai HC issues notice to minister

  • A petition was filed in the High Court by the Hatsun Agro (Chennai), Vijay Dairy (Trichy), and Dodla Dairy (Andhra Pradesh).
  • It says that the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Manufacturers Federation and the Dairy Ministry are unnecessarily interfering in the activities of milk production companies.
  • It also says that the minister’s accusations are instilling fear in the minds of the consumers.
Milk adulteration Chennai HC issues notice to minister

“While filing a case on milk adulteration, one should mention the name of the company and produce evidences proving the adulteration”, The Chennai High Court advised Dairy Minister Rajenthra Bhalaji.

A petition was filed in the High Court by the Hatsun Agro (Chennai), Vijay Dairy (Trichy) and Dodla Dairy (Andhra Pradesh). It read, “The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Manufacturers Federation and the Dairy Ministry are unnecessarily interfering in the activities of milk production companies." They fear the competition between private companies and Aavin. The TN Dairy Ministry has no right over private companies as the food quality is being monitored through the National Food Security Act. 

The TN Dairy Minister has been campaigning against the private milk production companies. Due to his actions, the private companies could not function properly. His baseless statements are released in Media. "From what he has said in interviews, we have got to know that he doesn’t have any knowledge on milk production processes. He has accused that we are adding hydrogen peroxide in the milk to achieve natural whiteness. This is a false accusation. The minister’s accusations are instilling fear in the minds of the consumers. His statements are said with a purpose to create abomination towards the products of private companies.  Milk sample has not been sent to the lab for examination. As they register baseless complaints against us they are also increasing the price of Aavin products. We are yet to calculate the loss caused in our businesses due to his actions. The private companies will definitely face a severe loss because of those accusations. As we suffer a loss in business, the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Manufacturers Federation will enjoy more profit. Hence the Court should order them to give Rs.1 Cr as compensation to each one of us. The Court should also ban the cheap criticisms.”

Interim order: Judge C V Karthikeyan, in response to the petition, said, “It was accepted by the petitioner that the minister has not mentioned the names of the three companies. The court will make some changes in the compensation amount. While filing a case on milk adulteration one should mention the name of the company and produce evidences proving the adulteration. Without producing evidences the minister should not criticize the quality and give interviews for the Media on the same.”

A notice was issued by the High court demanding the minister to answer the petition before July 28.
 

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