Delhi HC directs authorities to ensure stop to e-cigarettes sale

The Delhi High Court disposed of a PIL while directing the Centre, State, and Delhi Police to make sure that provisions of the law prohibiting the storage, manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes are complied with.

The authorities were asked to ensure no online sale of e-cigarettes takes place and to carry out periodical checks near schools and colleges.

"The state is directed to ensure compliance of the Act of 2019 by conducting more periodical checks in all localities in and around Delhi," the division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said.

According to the PIL, 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 were the respondents.

The court stated that the Act itself provides for a complete mechanism and the court does not find a reason to interfere in the case as it disposed of the plea.

The plea sought a direction to Delhi police to seize the entire contraband of the illegal stock of e-cigarettes and other related substances without delay and to the Centre to do the same from online websites.

"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 read.

It was claimed that despite the act being in force, e-cigarettes and similar substances are present in the market and are putting at risk the lives of innocent citizens, in clear violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.

The petition was filed by Advocates Shiv Vinayak Gupta and Anubhav Tyagi.

The HC further directed the authorities to comply with the provisions of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act.