Cuttack, July 5: Orissa High Court today issued a notice to the Centre seeking direction to the state government to extend the gutka ban to other chewing or smokeless tobacco products such as zarda, khaini and gudakhu containing nicotine that causes cancer.

Issuing the notice on a public interest litigation (PIL), the division bench of Justice Pradip Mohanty and Justice S.K. Mishra asked the Union ministry of health and family welfare to file a reply by August 2.

The petitioners — city-based legal advocacy group Committee for Legal Aid to Poor (CLAP) along with M.D. Imran Ali of Bhadrak and Jitendra Kumar Sahoo of Kandhamal — through their counsels had stated that zarda/chewing tobacco did not find mention in the central Act on the basis of which the state government had imposed its ban.

Odisha government had enforced from January 4 its ban on manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine as ingredients under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

The PIL had sought direction to the state government to modify its notification and prohibit production, distribution, supply and marketing of smokeless products containing tobacco or nicotine.

The court had earlier asked the petitioners to file an amended petition making the central government a party in the PIL after the state government’s counsel pointed out that amendment to the Central Act is necessary to modify the notification issued by the state government. The notice was issued to the Centre on an amended petition filed today.

The court has been hearing the PIL along with petitions filed by six businessmen of Cuttack who had alleged that tobacco products, which are not included under the purview of the notification were being seized in the process of implementation of the ban.