Kerala High Court Impleads Distributor & Certifier After Finding Continued Sale Of Chemical Kumkum In Sabarimala Despite Earlier Ban

In a move to ascertain whether the KumKum being distributed in Erumeli Panchayat is naturally sourced or chemical KumKum, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday (December 3) suo motu impleaded the enterprise distributing the KumKum and the agency certifying it to be naturally sourced.The Division Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and K.V. Jayakumar was seized with a suo motu petition initiated to oversee whether there are adequate facilities in the edathavalams (resting places) for the Sabarimala pilgrims.In its earlier order, the Court had directed the Travancore Devaswom Board to initiate steps to ensure that the selling of chemical kumkum is banned in Sabarimala to avoid substantial environmental degradation. It had, thereafter, refused to modify the order while considering the plea of the kuthaka holders (stall owners) who had told the Court that they had already paid advances for procuring kumkum. The Court had observed that it is upon the kuthaka holders to ensure that the kumkum that they sell are traditionally-sourced and not made from chemicals.In its interim order, the Court today recorded the Panchayat's submission that sale of chemical kumkum is being extensively carried out inspite of specific orders. The Court was also told that the kumkum in circulation was being distributed by an enterprise called 'Ideal Enterprises' and that the vendors of the kumkum were producing a certificate stated to have been issued by 'Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited'.The photographs showing sale of kumkum in the shops were also produced before the Court. Further, it was pointed out that it was not possible to ascertain whether the KumKum so distributed is sourced from natural ingredients or not.Noting that the principal distributor was the afore Ideal Enterprises, the Court felt it appropriate to implead it along with the agency that had certified the kumkum distributed."Having considered the submissions, we find that, in order to circumvent the ban imposed by this Court, the sale of KumKum continues unabated. Under no circumstances can the same be permitted. Prima facie, it appears that the principal distributor is the firm known as 'Ideal Enterprises'. In order to get to the root of the matter, we suo motu implead the following parties: (i) Ideal Enterprises, Ground Floor, XXVII/33, Venduvazhy, Kothamangalam, Ernakulam – 686691 (ii) Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited – Laboratory, Inside FACT-CD Campus, Ambalamedu, Kochi – 682303"It directed the Registry to carry out the impleadment and issue notice to them by special messenger. The case is posted next on December 5 (Friday).Case No: SSCR 29/ 2025Case Title: Suo Motu v. Union GovernmentClick to Read/Download Order

Kerala High Court Impleads Distributor & Certifier After Finding Continued Sale Of Chemical Kumkum In Sabarimala Despite Earlier Ban

K. Salma Jennath

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