The submission was made yesterday by the state's Advocate General S P Gupta before a Division Bench comprising Justice Amar Saran and Justice Anurag Kumar in course of a Public Interest Litigation filed by Indian Dental Association and others wherein a ban on the tobacco products was sought.
Upon the Advocate General's submission, the petitioners' counsel told the court that the state government had recently lowered taxes on gutkha and similar products which showed that it was "not intending to put a ban/reasonable restrictions".
Fixing September 17 as the next date of hearing, the court asked the Advocate General to submit his "written arguments" and give its copies to the petitioner and the Central government.
The court also sought to know by the next date whether ban imposed on such products by other states has been challenged in the Supreme Court and "if so, what are their details and the interim orders, if any, passed".
