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Apex Court Stays Contempt Case Against Coke, Pepsi
IANS
February 6, 2006
New Delhi: India's Supreme Court Monday stayed contempt proceedings
pending against Pepsi and Coca Cola in the Rajasthan High Court for
not obeying an order directing them to disclose the contents of their
beverages.
A bench of judges Arun Kumar and R.V. Raveendran, hearing petitions
filed by the two soft drink majors against the high court judgement,
said there would be no contempt proceedings.
The high court had, in its order, also asked the two companies to
disclose the presence of pesticides and chemicals through markings
on the bottles of their soft drinks.
Arun Jaitley, senior counsel for Coca Cola, brought to the court's
notice that while one division bench of the high court was hearing
a petition on compliance with the order, another was hearing contempt
proceedings.
Jaitley said the simultaneous hearing of both petitions might lead
to conflicting verdicts on the same issue.
K.K. Venugopal, senior counsel for Pepsi, said the central government
had introduced a bill in parliament to amend the Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act.
This bill had been referred to a parliamentary standing committee,
he said, and suggested that the court should await the outcome of
this process.
Venugopal said the central government had filed a petition seeking
the transfer of various petitions pending in different high courts
to the Supreme Court. In the light of this submission, the apex court
adjourned the proceedings.
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