HYDERABAD, May 23: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, dismissed two identical petitions seeking renewal of licences to sell mainpuri and gutka.

The petitions were filed by manufacturers of mainpuri and gutka - Rafique Ahmed, Mohammad Ilyas, Rustam Ali, Nisar Ahmed Ansari, Abrar Ahmed Ansari and Naseem.

The order which was signed by the bench on Saturday said thatpetitions were not maintainable with miscellaneous applications and added that petitioners could approach the civil court of jurisdiction for redressal of their grievances.

Additional advocate-general, Sindh, Masood A. Noorani argued that the products were injurious to health and were not examined by the government food laboratory thus petitioners could not be permitted to continue manufacturing.

He said that it had been reflected in petitions that licences issued to petitioners had already expired besides in a variety of petitions it was declared that mainpuri and gutka were injurious to public health.

Representing petitioners, Jhematmal Jethanand said that products of petitioners were immune from any injurious element and were not hazardous to public health.

He said that on an identical petition the EDO was directed to collect samples from factories of petitioners and other manufacturers in presence of magistrate and got them examined from the Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

He argued that instead of complying with court orders the EDO health without any lawful authority suspended licences of petitioners and when they submitted applications before the EDO for renewal of licences he asked them to seek relief from the high court. He prayed the court to direct the EDO health to renew their licences.