The Supreme Court has allowed the Union Textiles Ministry to move against Grasim Industries Ltd, which the Government alleges has violated the official order on packaging cement.
A bench headed by Justice B N Agarwal dismissed Grasim's petition seeking quashing of the Jute Commissioner's showcause notice asking the company why penal action should not be taken against it for failing to pack cement in jute bags before exemption was given for the commodity.
The company had allegedly failed to comply with the Government's order dated May 29, 1987, which directed that four commodities -- foodgrain, sugar, cement and fertilisers (urea) -- would be compulsorily packed in jute bags.
However, the Central government on June 30, 1997, had excluded cement from the restrictive regulatory provisions of the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987.
Grasim alleged that the Central government had passed the orders without hearing the affected parties and without collecting data from cement manufacturers.
Such packaging affected the health of workers due to cement dust content at the time of packing, handling, and transportation, the petition stated.