Boost lab testing infra, capabilities, SC tells Centre

WHILE CLOSING THE CASE, THE SC POINTED OUT THAT THE ABSENCE OF PROPER LABS WITH INFRASTRUCTURE LEAD TO EXTENDED LEGAL ISSUES

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has directed the Union government to boost testing infrastructure and laboratory capabilities, underscoring the risks of relying on incomplete test results in cases involving confiscation and penalties.

A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh issued the directive in a ruling dated March 28, after it found that three premier laboratories failed to conclusively determine whether an imported oil consignment was High-Speed Diesel (HSD) or Base Oil. HSD is a controlled substance that only state trading enterprises can import.

Emphasising the need for state-of-the-art laboratory facilities capable of conducting tests on all required parameters, the court closed customs proceedings against three importers, granting them the benefit of doubt, even as it called for a comprehensive overhaul of testing facilities to prevent such classification disputes in the future.