Supreme Court bans production and use of Endosulfan

The Supreme Court on Friday banned the production, distribution and use of Endosulfan across India.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice SH Kapadia, Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar passed an order directing state ministries to freeze the permit given to manufacturers of Endosulfan till further order by the court.

The bench also ordered two separate detailed studies on the adverse effects of Endosulfan on human life and environment by two committees.

The studies will be headed by Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) director general and the agricultural commissioner, according to the Press Trust of India.

The expert committee has been directed to submit its interim report within eight weeks.

The court passed its order on a petition filed by CPIM's youth wing Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) seeking country-wide ban on sale and production of Endosulfan.

The petition said one research group concluded that "Endosulfan exposure in male children may delay sexual maturity and interfere with sex hormone synthesis" and another found that those exposed to the pesticide reported "higher prevalence of neuro-behavioural disorder".

Earlier this month, the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) alongside civil society groups strongly came out against the production and use of the controversial pesticide.

The Church pressed for a nationwide ban on the deadly pesticide, the use of which over the years left scores dead and forced several hundreds to live with chronic health problems in many parts of India.

"NCCI acknowledges and endorses the decision of the Stockholm conference to ban Endosulfan. Realizing the grim danger posed by the pesticide to living beings and nature, it had been banned by 80 countries," the national body said in a statement.

India is the world's biggest producer of the Endosulfan which is widely sprayed on crops like rice and cotton.