• Source:JND
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The central government has informed the Karnataka High Court that it has directed the state government to cancel the licenses granted to private companies, which allowed them to collect, process and commercialize human breast milk.

The High Court is hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a person named Munegouda, who expressed concerns about multinational companies profiting from the collection and sale of breast milk. During the hearing, Arvind Kamath, Additional Solicitor General of India, informed the bench of Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind that the Ministry of Ayush had recently directed the Karnataka government to take action against such licenses.

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In compliance with these directions, the state government has cancelled several licenses issued to private firms. Kamath explained that the central government had ordered the state to cancel all such licenses.

Some companies initially received these licenses under Ayurvedic regulations, which allowed the commercial use of human breast milk. However, the central government has intervened, and the state has complied by cancelling several of these licenses. At least one company’s license has already been cancelled, and it has challenged this cancellation in the High Court.

The petitioner’s lawyer, B. Vishweshwarayya, presented a 50ml bottle of packaged breast milk and a 10-gram packet of powdered breast milk in court, which were priced at Rs 1,239 and Rs 313, respectively. Kamath noted that these licenses were initially granted under provisions related to Ayurvedic and natural medicine practices, but emphasized that, according to the recent directive from the central government, it is necessary to cancel them.

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He also requested the court to include the Ministry of Ayush as a respondent in the ongoing PIL. The High Court directed the petitioner to add the central ministry as a party to the case and issued a notice. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for December 4.