nagpur nagpur bench of bombay high court on wednesday directed the maharashtra government to act against those selling packaged drinking in unsealed containers as per the per the amendment carried out in the laws on march 1if any fresh cause of action has arisen against anybody after amendment was made its apparent that the respondents have to apply their minds and proceed further as per the law they cant defeat provisions of law as amended or trust put into them by the government a division bench comprising justice bhushan dharmadhikari and vinay deshpande stated before adjourning the hearing till june 17the courts orders came while hearing an intervention filed in a pil by harish sarda in 2013 which was admitted by the court for final hearing while granting a stay for prosecution of proprietors who sell unpackaged wateron september 6 last year toi had published a detailed report on hazards of consuming unpackaged drinking water which is processed from dingy rooms and in basements in shops and in houses without following stringent norms of bis fssai and fda the containers are unpackaged and unsealed the units are unhygienic and unmonitored and the water not tested regularlythe intervener argued that the products sold in jars with covers which can be opened without breaking the seal would not fall within the definitions stated in the actthese unsealed containers are not subjected to stringent lab testing as prescribed by the norms of bureau of indian standards bis food safety and standards authority of india fssai and food and drugs department fdahe contended that packaged drinking water is an item intended for human consumption under the act the term food is defined as any substance whether processed partially processed or unprocessed which includes packaged drinking water the act also defines manufacturer and package which clearly indicates that water sold for drinking purposes should be sealed in containerswhereas the bis rules say that a water manufacturing unit must have sufficient space for a separate laboratory raw water storage facility packing area and loading and unloading points most of these local units are running in a small room where water storage reverse osmosis ro setup chilling and moreover washing dirty containers and refilling them are happening at the same time and same place