Ban on non-iodised salt to be scrutinised

The Centre’s notification imposing ban on sale and consumption of non-iodised salt in India will be scrutinised threadbare after the Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted the petition challenging it. According to the notification dated November 7, 2005, the Government of India had imposed a blanket ban on the production, sale and use of non-iodised salt for direct human consumption. The Bench, comprising Justices B N Agrawal, P P Naolekar and R V Raveendran, admitted the petition after hearing the counsel for the petitioner— Academy of Nutrition, Improvement and other NGOs. The petitioner’s counsel contended that the impugned notification, making the consumption of iodised salt compulsory, was arbitrary and unconstitutional.