Islamabad: In a landmark decision , Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ordered Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authorities (PSQCA) to implement its mandatory notification for ban of use of non-food grade packing for food items. The judgment noted in its judgement that the notifications were not issued to dust , but to protect the interest of the people.
IHC’s judge , Mohammad Azam Khan, showed displeasure in his judgment over non-implementation of PSQCA notification issued some 10 years ago and ordered it to implement its notification I question and launch a countrywide campaign within 30 days to stop the use of non-food grade packing for food items like wheat flour and others.
143W.P.No. 1801/202026. This case is a stark reminder that laws are not written to gather dust ingazette notifications but to be implemented for the protection of the people. Letcopies of this judgment be sent to thte Respondents for immediate compliance27. The Registrar of this Court is directedto also provide copies of thisjudgment Jo the Chief Secretaries and the Chairpersons ofthe Provincial FoodAuthorities of Punjab,Sindh,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,and Balochistan. They areTrcexpected to act in aid of this Court’s orders and ensure vigorous enforcementwithin their respective jurisdictions.4-S.4-&sThe Petition is allowed in the above terms6stang Adc5*x0on-e-5ihahhtstD(MUHAMMAD AZAM KHAN)AuthorisJUDGE09年004e30128ApproveBlue slip added·/ddnanamScannerッE3ジ요cie itu powes
13W.P.No.1801/202023. The Respondent No.I (PSQCA) shall,wihin thirty (30) days of thisorder,launch a nationwide enforcement drive. It shall exercise its powersunder Sections 8, 15,and 22 of the PSQCA Ac, 1996,to identity, seize,detain,and initiate penal proceedings against the manufacture, storage,sale, andtransport of(a)Polypropylene woven sacks marked or intendeH for packing fooditems that do not bear the PS Mark certifying conformmity with PS: 3128.(b) any krat paper sacks being used for packing cement that do not confomto PS:4877,and critiealy,any such cement sacks found in the supply chaiforpacking food items. The PSQCA shall hot limit its action to manufacturers butshall extend it to distributors,godowns,and transporters found dealing in non-compliant sacks.Its jurisdiction is over the article, not the business license of theend-user.Furthermore,the PSQCA shalI submit a comprehensive compliancereport to this Court within ninety (90) days from the receipt of copy of thisjudgment,detailing actions taken, quantities seized,penalties imposed,and thegeographical scope of its operations.24. The Respondent No. 2(Ministry of National Food Security) shall,withinthirty (30) days,convene consultations with the Provincial Food DepartmentsProvincial Food Authorities and relevant federal regulators,with a view toframing and notifying appropriate policy and administrative measuresto ensurethat wheat flour produced from govemment-released wheat is packaged inPSQCA-certified sacks conforming to PS:3128. Such measures may include,where considered appropriate under law,the incorporation of complianceconditions in procurenent, release or subsidy frameworks. The Ministry shallplace before this Court,within ninety(90) days, a report outlining the measureseinsidlred and seps taken in this reeard.25.Both Respondents shall,within forty-five (45) days,convene a meetingwi64Gpresentatjves of all Provineial Food Authorities and submit to this Court¥JoyatAction.Plan for coordinated,sustained enforcement. This plan shallsnciode ‘irjchanisms for information sharing, joint inspection teams whereaiprdorfaie, and public awareness campaigns.aScanner
51801/20202with12W.P.No. 1801/2020S.RO.117(KE)/2016and S.RO.46(KE)/2017were lawfuly isued under19.Section 14 of the PSQCA Act. They have the force oflaw.The state’s failure toenforce its own laws for over eight years is the definition of maladministrationand arbitrariness.It violates the principle oflegality and erodes public trust in theregulatory state.20. The collective inaction of the state apparatus direetly implicates thefollowing fundamental rights:Article 9 (Security of Person):The state’s failure to prevent.the contamination of staple foods with carcinogenic substances frompackaging is a direct threat to the life and security of every citizen.Article 14 (Inviolability of Dignity):Forcing the populace,especially the poor, to consume food packed in filth-ridden,industrial waste bags is an affront to human dignity.Article 38 (Promotion of Social & Economic.Welfare): Allowing the squandering of a vital food resource worthbillions which could feed millions, is a gross failure to promote theeconomic well-being of the people.The state has a positive obligation to protect these rights.Its current posture ofinstitutional paralysis constitutes a breach of that obligation.21. The Petitioner hasmade out an irrefutable case. The objections of theRespondents, while highlighting the complexities of federal-provincialgovemance,cannot justify the continued sacrtfice of public health and nationaléd to Be]:wealth on the altar of bureaucratic inertia and jurisdictional technicalities.22.It is declared that the non-implementation and non-enforcement of thepublie duy,is arbitrary,unreasonable,and has resulted in the violation of thefundamnenafhehts ofthe ciizens of Pakistan under Articles9, 14,and 38oftheCoistitutionUS11Y1canner
S.R1193W.P.No. 1801/2020a derelietion of its comprehensive statutory duty to ensure conformity wihPakistan Standards.16. The objection with regard to the Respondent No. 2/Ministry is sustainedin part but overruled in its attempt to completely disengage from the issue.It iscorrect that the Ministry is not a direct, boots-on-the-ground enforcement agencyfor food safety at flour mills. That task lies with Provincial FoodAuthorities.However,the Ministry’s core mandate is national food security.Itcannot credibly claim this mandate while being willfully blind to a documentedsystemic leak of 3-5% of the national wheat flour supply,a loss valued at tens ofbillions annually,solely due to faulty pac
