Polythene bags and the law: India
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Carry bags to market like good old times: SC
From the archives of The Times of India 2007, 2009
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Finding the plastic industry association’s challenge to a Delhi government notification banning use of polybags in market places to be a little out of sync with the present eco-friendly cry, the Supreme Court on Friday advised Delhiites to carry bags from home to markets and malls.
A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices V S Sirpurkar and Deepak Verma expressed disagreement with senior advocate K K Venugopal’s submission that the ban was violative of the industry’s right to carry on business.
Venugopal assailed the Delhi High Court order directing the Delhi government to consider banning plastic bags in the national capital and said can a court direct a government to legislate?
He said that paper and jute bags were quite costly and out of reach of the common man, who has been put to a lot of inconvenience by the ban on easy-to-carry and cheap plastic bags. The bench said: ‘‘Did you consider the hazardous effect of the large scale use of plastic bags to environment? It can play havoc.’’ However, it agreed to consider the plea of All India Plastic Industries Association and posted the matter for detailed hearing in the month of April.
But before deferring hearing on the plea, Justice Verma had an advise for Delhiites: ‘‘Let everyone carry a bag to the market place like the good old times. I carry one every time I go to the market.’’