Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government’s decision to ban gutka and paan masala from Tuesday is running into legal hurdles as the Bombay High Court stayed a government notification of May 2.


The ban will not be imposed as the high court has a stay order, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dhanraj Khamatkar said. However, he did not clarify whether the state government will file a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking to vacate the stay.


The state government decided to ban gutka and food containing a mixture of tobacco and nicotine from May 20, followed by a notification issued by the Central government on February 5. This is the third notification issued by the government to ban gutka.


The production, storage and distribution of gutka may be restricted with the implementation of the notification. Last year, the state government banned gutka containing high content of magnesium carbonate.

Maharashtra Government’s decision to ban gutka and pan masala from Tuesday is running into a legal hurdle as the Bombay High Court put a stay on government’s notification on May 2.

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