Have asked State to cancel licenses of firms procuring breast milk: Centre to Karnataka High Court

The Union government Wednesday told the Karnataka High Court that it had issued directions to the State government to cancel licenses granted to private companies authorizing them to collect, process, sell or commericalise human breast milk.

Additional Solicitor General Arvind Kamath told a bench of Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind that following recent directions issued by the Union Ministry of Ayush, the Karnataka government had cancelled several such licenses that it had previously granted to private firms.

“The central government has issued directions to the State government to cancel all licenses. The State had granted certain licenses earlier under some Ayurvedic norms where certain companies were using human breast milk for sale. We have now issued directions to the State government to cancel all such licenses, so, we have taken action. And the State government has gone ahead and cancelled some of such licenses. Atleast in respect of one such company, the license has been cancelled and that company had challenged the cancellation. It is pending before a single bench of this High Court,” Kamath told the Court.

The Court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by one Munegowda, raising concerns about multinational companies engaging in the collection and commercialisation of breast milk.

On Wednesday, the petitioner’s counsel, advocate B Visveswaraiah, produced before the Bench a 50-millilitre bottle of packaged breast milk and another 10-gram pack of de-hydrated, powdered breast milk sold by a private company.

The Court was told that the bottle was being sold for ₹1,239 each and the milk powder was being sold for ₹313 per pack.

Kamath then told the Court that earlier, the Karnataka government had granted licenses permitting such commercialisation under some provisions of the State Ayurvedic and naturopathy norms. However, now that the Centre has issued specific directions for cancelling the licenses, the State must act upon the directions.

Kamath also urged the Court to direct the petitioner to implead the Union Ayush ministry as a respondent party to the PIL.

The Court accordingly directed the petitioner to implead the Union ministry and issued notice to the latter.

The Court will hear the matter further on December 4.