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Plea on enhancing quality of packaged drinking water: Luxury litigation, says SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a PIL seeking enforcement of global standards for packaged drinking water, terming it as a fit case of luxury litigation in a country where a large populace lacks access to basic drinking water. Where is the drinking water in this country, madam? People do not have drinking water; the quality of bottled water will come later on, Chief Justice Surya Kant, who was sitting with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, said, adding that these are luxury litigations. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Sarang Vaman Yadwadkar, who sought directives to improve and align Indian standards for packaged drinking water with global benchmarks. At the outset, the CJI questioned the very premise of the petition, observing that the court could not lose sight of broader realities faced by the country. Do you think we can implement standards followed by the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Australia? This is an urban-centric approach; people in rural areas drink groundwater, and nothing happens to them, the bench said. Senior advocate Anita Shenoy, counsel for petitioner, said the issue concerned public health and consumer safety. Relying on Section 18 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which mandates adherence to prescribed safety norms, the counsel said citizens were entitled to clean and safe packaged drinking water, and that statutory obligations could not be diluted. Suggesting to the petitioner to spare some time for Indias to grow further, the bench said, Let us face the ground realities of the country. Nobody takes up the cause of the poor. All this is urbanised phobia. The court also advised her to travel across the country and see the reality. Mahatma Gandhi, when he returned from South Africa, travelled across rural areas to understand the plight of the people, the CJI said. The bench, however, allowed withdrawal of the PIL with liberty to approach the FSSAI and competent authorities to seek redrssal.

19 Dec 2025 7:14 am