Madras High Court
S.Cyril Alexander vs Union Of India on 11 August, 2014
Bench: Sanjay Kishan Kaul, M.Sathyanarayanan
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED : 11-8-2014 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MR.SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, THE CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.SATHYANARAYANAN WRIT PETITION No.9955 of 2014 S.Cyril Alexander State Convenor Tamilnadu People's Forum for Tobacco Control (TNPFTC) No.39/8, Starling Apartments 2nd Street, Akbarabad Kodambakkam Chennai 600 024. .. Petitioner vs 1.Union of India Rep. By its Principal Secretary Ministry of Corporate Affairs 'A' Wing, Shastri Bhawan Rajendra Prasad Road New Delhi 110 001 2.Union of India Rep. By its Principal Secretary Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Nirman Bhawan New Delhi 110 011 3.State of Tamilnadu Rep. By the Chief Secretary Government of Tamilnadu Secretariat, Chennai 600 009 4.Department of Public Health Rep. By the Principal Secretary Department of Public Health Government of Tamilnadu Secretariat, Chennai 600 009 5.The Chairman and Managing Director ITC Limited 37, J.L. Nehru Road Kolkata 700 071 West Bengal State 6.The Chairman and Managing Director Godfrey Phillips India Ltd., 49, Community Centre Friends Colony New Delhi 110 025 7.The Chairman and Managing Director Vazir Sultan Tobacco Company P.O.Box No.1804, Azambad Hyderabad 500 020 Andhra Pradesh State 8.The Chairman and Managing Director Manikchand Group Manikchand House 100-101, Dr. Kennedy Road Pune 411 001 Maharashtra State 9.The Chairman and Managing Director Golden Tobacco Company Tobacco House, S.V. Road Vile Parle West Mumbai 400 056 Maharashtra 10.All India Bidi Industry Federation Rep. By its President 12-K, Dubhash Marg Rampart Row, Fort Mumbai 400 023 11.The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative Ltd CAMPCO D.No.11-8-703/2, Mission Street Mangalore, Karnataka 12.All India Kattha Manufacturers and Traders Association 115, Transport Centre New Rohtak Road Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi 110 035 (RR11 & 12 are deleted as per order of Court dated 11.8.2014) .. Respondents Writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of a writ of mandamus directing (a) the first respondent to issue appropriate orders to exclude the Tobacco Industry from the purview of the Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme mandated under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, to prevent the tobacco industry from earning goodwill through direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products and other related products and (b) the second respondent to formulate a scheme to require the respondents 5 to 12 and other tobacco product manufacturers to pay to the Central Government the amount to be spent by them under the Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme to meet various medical expenses for the persons affected by the tobacco and other products and for furthering the National Tobacco Control Programme-NTCP projects and initiatives. For Petitioner : Mr.S.Sathia Chandran For Respondents : Mr.S.Haja Mohideen Gisthi SCGSC for RR1 & 2 Mr.S.T.S.Moorthy Government Pleader for RR3 & 4 Mr.R.Muthukumarasamy Senior Counsel Assisted by Mr.Krishna Srinivas for R5 Mr.Prashant Rajagopalan for R6 Mr.Krishna Srinivas for M/s.Ramasubramanian Associate4s for R7 Mr.Hari Radhakrishnan for R8 Mr.T.Poornam for R11 No appearance for RR9, 10 & 12 ORDER
(Order of the Court was made by THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE) The petitioner seeks to raise an issue of the mode and manner in which the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provisions are being misutilised by the tobacco industry.
2.In view of the aforesaid controversy, it is conceded that the respondents 11 and 12 really are not connected with the matter in issue and may be deleted from the array of parties. It is ordered accordingly.
3.It is the say of the petitioner that as the tobacco industry is to be excluded from the CSR Scheme, the damage caused and burden mounted by the industry on environment and human life cannot be lost sight of and in order to compensate the damages that the tobacco industry has caused to public health, a suitable mechanism has to be developed by the State to make use of the funds that the tobacco companies are mandated to spend on CSR. In this behalf, an illustration has been given how the system works in the United States of America.
4.Learned Counsel for the petitioner also seeks to draw attention to the letter dated 10.1.2014 filed with the additional typed-set addressed by the Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Department to the Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs which according to the learned Counsel for the petitioner fully supports what is pleaded before this Court.
5.We are of the view that the matter being one of Government Policy, it is for the concerned authorities to look into all the materials as also the inter-government communications to see how best CSR Scheme of the tobacco trade can be met and what model has to be framed for the same. We would expect appropriate action be taken within four months from today as prayed for by the learned Senior Central Government Standing Counsel for the respondents 1 and 2.
6.The writ petition accordingly stands disposed of. No costs.
(S.K.K.,C.J.) (M.S.N.,J.) 11-8-2014 Index: yes/no nsv To:
1.The Principal Secretary Ministry of Corporate Affairs 'A' Wing, Shastri Bhawan Rajendra Prasad Road New Delhi 110 001
2.The Principal Secretary Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Nirman Bhawan New Delhi 110 011
3.The Chief Secretary Government of Tamilnadu Secretariat, Chennai 600 009
4.The Principal Secretary Department of Public Health Government of Tamilnadu Secretariat, Chennai 600 009 THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE AND M.SATHYANARAYANAN, J.
nsv W.P.No.9955 of 2014 Dt: 11-8-2014