‘Don’t eat onions for 2 months to bring down price’

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a directive to the Centre to rein in the rising rates of vegetables like onion.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a directive to the Centre to rein in the rising rates of vegetables like onion.

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“You stop eating onions for two months and its price would come under control,” a bench headed by justice BS Chauhan told the petitioner, rejecting the petition.

“Don’t burden the court with these cases. We cannot entertain such petitions,” it said.

The petitioner’s advocate Vishni Pratap Singh contended the government had “grossly” failed in controlling food inflation. He said the government was depriving the weakest sections of society of their right to sustenance through its failure to control the rates of essential commodities.

The Centre, he added, had not invoked the statutory provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to control food inflation. As a result the prices of onions and other basic vegetables including potatoes and tomatoes have been rising steadily.