Delhi High Court: In a petition filed by the petitioners relating to the deaths caused allegedly due to the slitting of throats by kite flying thread made of polyester, nylon, plastic, or any other synthetic material, etc., also known colloquially as Chinese Manjha being used for flying kites in the city of Delhi, Prathiba M Singh, J., held that the manufacturers and importers of the `Chinese Manjha', as also the shopkeepers of the shops where the same is being sold, would have to be proceeded against in accordance with law.
The facts in these cases show that in all four petitions, young persons have had to suffer sudden deaths due to slitting of the throats while they were riding on their single-track vehicles i.e., Scooters and Motor Cycles. The unfortunate deaths of the persons riding the said vehicles in these four petitions have taken place in August 2021 and between the months of July and August in the year 2022.
The notice was issued and the stand of the GNCTD is that there is a complete ban on the sale, production, supply import and use of kite flying threads made of Chinese Manjha. On behalf of the Union of India, the Special Secretary of the Department of Environment and Forest reiterated that the public officials like Tehsildar, Wildlife Inspectors, Sub-inspectors and Sanitary Inspectors have all been directed to implement the notification dated 10-01-2017.
The Court noted that despite all these steps being taken, the fact that deaths are still stated to be caused due to `Chinese Manjha' shows that there needs to be a strict implementation of the ban. The said implementation would have to be carried out by the government officials concerned including the Police Authorities who must ensure that FIRs that are registered do not remain paper FIRs and proper investigation is conducted to curb the menace of `Chinese Manjha'.
The Court further noted that considering that kite flying threads and manjha are primarily used by children and young adults, it is the responsibility of the State to ensure that harmful kite flying threads and manjha are not made readily available in the market for sale.
Thus, the Court issued the following directions
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A comprehensive investigation shall be conducted across Delhi by the Crime Branch, Delhi Police and a detailed report shall be placed on record giving the following details:—
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The details of manufacturers, importers as also online retailers who are supplying these materials to the traders and consumers.
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Details of all the markets and e-commerce portals, where these threads and manjha are being sold and whether such shopkeepers have been alerted on a regular basis against the sale of these harmful products.
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The status of the FIRs which are listed above in paragraph 5 of this order and any other FIRs which have been registered across Delhi. It shall also be specified whether the shopkeepers and the sellers who sold the `Chinese Manjha' have been arrayed as an accused or not.
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A clear statement specifying if any proceedings have been initiated against the public officials of the areas who have received the ban orders and have failed to implement the same.
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The Court further directed that any status reports which would show that action has been taken, would have to be detailed and include the current position in these FIRs and whether chargesheets have been filed or not. It should also give data on the accused persons who have been identified and whether the said cases are being prosecuted diligently or not.
[Ishwar Singh Dahiya v State of NCT of Delhi, 2023 SCC OnLine Del 822, decided on 10-02-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Mr. Siddarth Agarwal, Advocate with Mr. Aman Khan, Advocate for petitioner
Mr. Anuj Aggarwal, ASC with Ms. Ayushi Bansal, Mr. Sanyam Suri and Ms. Arshya Singh, Advocates for R1, 3, 4 and 5) with SI. Hawa Singh, PS Mangol Puri.
Mr. Ajay Digpaul CGSC alongwith Mr Kamal R Digpaul and Ms Swati Kwatra, Advocate for UOI
*Arunima Bose, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.