W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 12.06.2025 CORAM: THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE S.M.SUBRAMANIAM and THE HONOURABLE DR.JUSTICE A.D.MARIA CLETE W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 N.Karthik Kanna ... Petitioner vs. 1.Deleted 2.The State of Tamil Nadu, Represented by the Chief Secretary, Secretariat, Fort St. George, Chennai – 600 009. 3.The Director General of Police, Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore, Chennai – 4. 4.The District Collector, Madurai – 20. 5.The Commissioner, Madurai Corporation, Madurai – 625 002. 1/8 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 6.National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Represented by its Chairperson, 5th Floor, Chanderlok Building, 36 Janpath, New Delhi – 110 001. 7.The Union of India, Represented by its Secretary to Government, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, New Delhi. ... Respondents (R - 1 is suo motu deleted vide order dated 26.07.2024 in W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018) (R – 7 is suo motu impleaded vide order dated 02.04.2024 in W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018) PRAYER : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus i) directing the respondents to take appropriate proceedings to ban and seize the stocks of the hazardous Polyacrylate Crystal balls products in any form accessible to the children, from the state, ii) directing the first respondent to take effective steps to monitor and ban the online sales and import of any child toys containing Polyacrylate Crystal balls and iii) directing the sixth respondent to take appropriate proceedings to formulate and implement effective public awareness and periodical monitoring programmes against the hazardness of these Super absorbent Polyacrylate Crystal balls. 2/8 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 For Petitioner : Mr.N.Karthik Kanna (Party-in-person) For R – 1 : Deleted For RR 2 & 4 : Mr.P.Thilak Kumar Government Pleader For R – 3 : Mr.T.Senthil Kumar Additional Public Prosecutor For R – 5 : No appearance For RR 6 & 7 : Mr.K.Govindarajan Deputy Solicitor General of India Assisted by Mr.Pon Senthil Kumar Central Government Standing Counsel ORDER (Order of the Court was made by S.M.SUBRAMANIAM, J.) The writ of Mandamus has been instituted seeking the following reliefs: i) to direct the respondents to take appropriate proceedings to ban and seize the stocks of hazardous Polyacrylate Crystal balls products, in any form accessible to the children, from the state, ii) to direct the first respondent to take effective steps to monitor and ban the online sale and import of any toys containing Polyacrylate Crystal balls intended for children iii) to direct the sixth respondent to take 3/8 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 appropriate steps to formulate and implement effective public awareness and periodical monitoring programmes against the hazardness of these Super absorbent Polyacrylate Crystal balls. 2.The counter-affidavit filed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry states that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is responsible for the development and publication of Indian Standards, including coverage of specified products. Accordingly, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) sought details from the BIS. As per the inputs received from BIS, there is currently no specific reference to super absorbent crystal balls in the Indian Standards for safety of toys. These items are also not mentioned even in the list of products exempted from the scope of IS 9873 (Part 1): 2019 (Indian Standard for Safety of Toys, covering mechanical and physical safety aspects). However, the standards do include requirements for balls in general, such as the small balls test and yo-yo balls. A test for expanding materials is also given in the standard which applies to toys containing material which expand in water. Since the Indian Standards for Safety of Toys apply to toys ie., products or materials designed or clearly intended for use in play by children of under 14 4/8 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 years of age, it is viewed that these standards and thus the toys Quality Control Order (QCO) would apply in instances where this product is being produced, sold or imported as a toy or as part of a toy intended for children under 14 years of age. Holiday decorations that are primarily intended for ornamental purposes are not covered within the scope of the Indian Standards for the safety of toys. As per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 2016, no person is permitted to manufacture, import, sell or distribute, store, hire, lease or exhibit for sale toys which do not conform to the Indian Standards (IS 9873/IS 15644) and do not bear the “ISI' mark under a license from BIS. Any person who contravenes the provisions of this order shall be punishable under the provisions of the BIS Act, 2016 (Annexure-II). For implementation of the provisions of QCO, BIS functions as the Certification authority and grants licences or certificates of conformity (CoC) to manufactures as per relevant Conformity Assessment Scheme. BIS also acts as the Enforcement Authority for the products specified in the QCO. 3.Since the sale of prohibited toys or materials attracts penalty, the petitioner or any aggrieved person is at liberty to file a complaint before the competent authorities for the initiation of prosecution. It is needless to state that 5/8 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 both State and Central authorities are bound to monitor and prevent the illegal sale of prohibited toys and materials as stated in their counter-affidavit. Effective monitoring is of paramount importance, since the children's health are involved in sale of these kinds of toys and play materials. 4.With this liberty, this Writ Petition stands disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs. [S.M.S.,J.] & [A.D.M.C.,J.] 12.06.2025 NCC : Yes / No Index : Yes / No Internet : Yes ps 6/8 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 To 1.The Chief Secretary, Represented by the State of Tamil Nadu, Secretariat, Fort St. George, Chennai – 600 009. 2.The Director General of Police, Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore, Chennai – 4. 3.The District Collector, Madurai – 20. 4.The Commissioner, Madurai Corporation, Madurai – 625 002. 5.National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Represented by its Chairperson, 5th Floor, Chanderlok Building, 36 Janpath, New Delhi – 110 001. 6.The Secretary to Government, Represented by its Union of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, New Delhi. 7/8 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 S.M.SUBRAMANIAM , J. and DR.A.D.MARIA CLETE , J. ps ORDER MADE IN W.P(MD)No.25054 of 2018 DATED : 12.06.2025 8/8 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis