Trial by kangaroo courts

Scene two: the two companies immediately publish, source and treated water results tested in Indian and international accredited laboratories meeting even the stringent European Union norms. But who8217;s listening?

It doesn8217;t matter that the suspect Centre for Science and Environment results for soft drinks have been benchmarked against EU norms for pesticides in source water as specific standards for soft drinks don8217;t exist globally.

It doesn8217;t matter that even the CSE8217;s suspect data on pesticide content is about a fifth the global World Health Organisation norms. WHO norms are the standard in India and in many developed countries.

Scene three: the knee-jerk, misguided reaction to ban soft drinks in Parliament, again damning the accused without any hearing.

The frenzied TV media chasing consumers on the streets of New Delhi and Mumbai asking them persistently, 8216;8216;Why are you drinking this soft drink? It contains pesticides.8217;8217; And leading publications conclusively declaring that soft drinks along with other food products have poisonous pesticide.

Two Fortune 500 corporations, which have invested over 2 billion in India, have put their reputation at stake to declare with scientific data from accredited laboratories that they are in the clear. But who8217;s listening?

As these scenes flash before me I can only conclude that this is yet another instance where our democracy and constitutional freedom of speech is being completely misused to sensationalise a non-issue, cause panic among citizens and confusion in the government machinery.

All this is in clear defiance of the principles of natural justice, which is a cornerstone of our constitutional system and of our democratic society.

The only sane voice in the melee is that of the Union Health Ministry and the concerned government departments. They have quietly ordered a probe through scientific testing.

I do hope that after all these constituents have had their pound of flesh, the controversy does not continue to defocus from the real challenges. These are: One, norms and codes for our society at large and NGOs in particular and the rules of engagement.

Two, responsibilities of the news channels and the press, which sheepishly admit in private that viewer rating compulsions drive editorial stance.

Three, while soft drink companies have the competence to achieve any global standard, Indian authorities have to ascertain the disastrous impact of adopting EU standards universally.

It will have a catastrophic impact on the Indian agricultural sector and the food processing sector and put at risk the entire Rs 31,000 crore agro-based exports.

The author is chairman, PepsiCo India