Date:29/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/29/stories/2007072954410600.htm

Tamil Nadu

PIL against sale of impure gold

Staff Reporter

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has admitted a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction to the Director General of Police to initiate criminal action against merchants selling impure gold jewellery and silver articles in the State.

A Division Bench comprising Justice P.D. Dinakaran and Justice P.R. Shivakumar ordered notice to the DGP, Regional Director of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Union Ministry of Company Affairs, Tamil Nadu Federation of Gold, Silver and Diamond Jewellers’ Associations and others returnable by four weeks. The petitioner, M. Ganesan of Madurai, also sought a direction to the Government officials concerned to exercise their powers under the BIS Act for maintaining the quality of gold and silver sold across the State. He said that a majority of jewellers were “cheating” the people by selling low quality gold at the price of 22 carat gold.

He relied upon a news report in The Hindu dated November 27, 2006 wherein the Additional Director General of BIS had said that a majority of the gold jewellery sold in the country was impure.