KOCHI: The High Court on Friday referred a petition seeking a probe into the alleged distribution of sub-standard Onam kits by Supplyco to a division bench. Justice P V Asha referred the petition filed by Jomy Mathai of Ernakulam citing that it should be considered as public interest litigation (PIL). Sreekumar Chelur, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that the government had taken a policy decision to distribute food packets as ‘Onam kit’ comprising 11 items to ration card holders and it was started through the Supplyco. However, there were widespread complaints from public regarding the quality, manufacturing, packaging and content of the food items distributed by the corporation.
According to the petitioner, quality control officials of Supplyco were responsible for ensuring that items supplied by vendors adhered to quality standards. Quality issues were found regarding jaggery and pappads distributed as part of the Onam kit. Subsequently, sugar packet was added to the list of items in the kit replacing jaggery.
The Tamil Nadu pappad was excluded and Kerala pappad was included in the list.Even after identifying anomalies, the deficiencies in quality, content of food items and deceptive packaging were not addressed, the petitioner stated.The government argued that the petition is based on the public’s use of the kits and not individual use by the petitioner, hence it should be considered as public interest litigation.