S.V.S RATHORE, J. - (1.) THIS petition has been filed on behalf of the Love Care Foundation, registered society, who has approached this Court with a pious object of reducing the growing tendency of smoking among the Indian youths and thereby to create a healthy society free from several diseases.
(2.) INITIALLY , the prayer of the petitioner in the instant writ petition was as under: - (i) A writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding the opposite parties to ban the distribution and sale of cigarette and other tobacco products in public and open market and to implement plain packaging rule in cigarette and other tobacco products by prohibiting the use of logos, colours, brand names or prominent information on packaging.
(3.) BUT during course of arguments, learned counsels for the petitioner have fairly conceded that they have restricted their prayer only to the extent of implementing plain packaging rule in cigarettes and other tobacco products by prohibiting use of logos, colours, brand names or prominent information on packaging. The case of the petitioner is that an attractive packaging is a pseudo mode of advertisement. The cigarettes are being packed in such an attractive packaging that it attracts the youths for smoking. The ill effects of smoking are well known. The statement of Objects and Reasons of the cigarettes (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1975, inter alia, provides:;