The Supreme Court of India on Thursday, December 18, 2025, dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought stricter regulations on chemical contaminants in packaged drinking water. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and including Justice Joymalya Bagchi, termed the plea a "luxury litigation" that overlooks the pressing ground reality of drinking water scarcity faced by millions in the country.
Court's Stance on Urban-Centric Concerns
During the hearing, the CJI pointedly questioned the petition's focus. "Where is the drinking water in this country, madam? People do not have drinking water; the quality of bottled water will come later on," CJI Kant remarked. The court emphasized that in rural India, people largely depend on groundwater, and the petition reflected an "urban-centric approach."
The bench advised the petitioner, architect Sarang Vaman Yadvadkar, represented by Senior Advocate Anita Shenoy, to instead travel to parts of India where people struggle for basic drinking water access. "Then he will understand what is India," the CJI added, while allowing the petitioner to make a representation to the concerned authorities like the Food Standards and Safety Authority of India (FSSAI).
The Core of the PIL's Argument
The PIL, filed through Advocate Srishti Agnihotri, had sought directions for the FSSAI to revise its standards for permissible levels of two chemicals—antimony and DEHP (Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate)—in packaged drinking water. These substances are used in plastics to enhance durability and flexibility.
The petition argued that current Indian standards set by FSSAI and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) are weaker than international benchmarks from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other nations. It claimed that higher permissible limits expose consumers to health risks.
Cited Health Risks and Global Standards
The plea highlighted potential harms from excessive exposure, including impacts on cardiovascular health, respiratory irritation, and gastrointestinal distress. It linked chronic exposure to liver and kidney dysfunction. Alarmingly, it stated that India accounts for nearly a third of global DEHP-linked cardiovascular deaths, underscoring the urgency for revised norms.
Advocate Shenoy clarified that the petition specifically concerned bottled water and the chemical migration from plastic, but the bench remained unconvinced. CJI Kant questioned the feasibility of implementing stringent US or EU guidelines in India's current context, urging a focus on more fundamental issues of water availability for the poor.
The court's dismissal underscores a judicial prioritization of basic access to water over quality enhancements for commercially packaged products, framing the latter as a concern of the privileged in a nation still battling widespread scarcity.
