Ensure e-cigarettes not sold, carry out periodical checks around schools, colleges: Delhi HC to authorities

Authorities were further directed to “take all possible steps to ensure that online sale of e-cigarettes does not take place”. The authorities arrayed as respondents in the PIL are the Centre through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Anti-Smuggling Unit, Union Ministry of Electronics and Information technology, Commissioner of Police, and the Department of Health, State of NCT of Delhi.

“Delhi Police will also carry out periodical checks near and around all schools and colleges to ensure e-cigarettes are not sold. Police will take action against violators under the special provisions of the Act,” the HC directed.

With these directions, the HC disposed off the plea stating that the Act itself provides for a complete mechanism and the court does not find a reason to interfere in the case.

Appearing for the Health department, Delhi government standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi submitted, “We have taken action on the basis of complaints. We have also suo moto confiscated such goods from pan shops”. Advocate Arun Panwar also appeared for the Delhi government.

The litigants, practising advocates Shiv Vinayak Gupta and Anubhav Tyagi, submitted that there appeared to be still some vacuum between the act and its implementation.“Only two FIRs have been filed ever since the act has been implemented,” they argued, adding that “e-cigarettes are abundantly available within a radius of 5 km from wherein the high court was situated”.

The HC made it clear that they do not legislate when there is legislation covering such goods already in place. After the litigant referred to the Vishakha judgment, which provided the basic definitions of sexual harassment at the workplace and guidelines to deal with it, the HC said Vishakha applied when there is no legislation or rules. “However this case does not fall in that category,” the HC said.

Among various reliefs, the plea seeks a direction to Delhi police to “forthwith seize the entire contraband of the illegal stock of e-cigarettes and other related substances” and to the Centre to “immediately remove” all related content from online websites.

The plea further seeks directions to “all respondents in order to expediently take control of the e-cigarettes industry under the act and find the “source” of its illegal sale in the city and ensure introduction of public awareness programmes against its use.

The plea claims that despite the said Act, which makes e-cigarettes and like substances illegal, on account of omissions of the Respondents, “the illegal presence of e-cigarettes and other related substances in the market are putting at risk the lives of innocent citizens at large which is a clear violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India whereunder the right to a clean and healthy environment shall be equally enjoyed by one and all”.

The plea contends that the Act not only imposes a blanket ban on e-cigarettes and other related substances but also incorporates the intent of the Parliament that the Union should take under its control the electronic cigarettes industry, expediently.

The litigants visited local retail pan-shops across Delhi and were shocked to see the abundant presence of e-cigarettes and other related substances. They also filed a police complaint under the provisions of the 2019 Act at Defence Colony police station, pursuant to which the officer in-charge agreed to carry out impromptu search and seizure and huge stocks of e-cigarettes and other related substances worth several lakhs.

They also filed RTls under the Right to Information Act, 2005 seeking information on measures taken to implement provisions of the 2019 Act, the number of FIRs registered against perpetrators of e-cigarettes, etc.

“The said RTls were addressed to several authorities and the petitioners have received non-committal replies from respective authorities as elaborated in the petition hereinafter,” the plea states.