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“The Maharashtra government will bring amendments to […] the Prevention of Food Adulteration (Maharashtra Amendment) Act, 1969 to provide life imprisonment for the accused,” said Maharashtra FDA Minister Girish Bapat.“[Life imprisonment will be the] maximum punishment for adulteration cases.”Bapat also revealed that President Ramnath Kovind had agreed to other states’ amendments to the respective state laws, prescribing life terms for the violators. This reportedly came after Congress member Sanjay Dutt raised the issue of food adulteration cases having increased at an alarming rate in Maharashtra over the last three years, as per data from the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry. Dutt also claimed that Maharashtra ranked second in the country in terms of food adulteration case reports in the 2016/2017 period, and ‘demanded that the concerned ministry strengthen [monitoring] to ensure swift action and conviction of those guilty,’ according to The Indian Express.Maharashtra is the second-most populous and third-largest state in India, comprising India’s most populous city, Mumbai. |
