In a ruling that will have ramifications across the country, the Karnataka high court on Friday struck down a rule mandating that 85% of the principal display area on packets of tobacco products be covered by specified health warnings.
A division bench comprising Justice B S Patil and Justice B V Nagarathna said that the new stipulation under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, is unconstitutional. It ordered that the 2008 rule — mandating that the warnings cover 40% of the packet — should replace the existing rule.
 

In a ruling that will have ramifications across the country, the Karnataka high court on Friday struck down a rule mandating that 85% of the principal display area on packets of tobacco products be covered by specified health warnings.
A division bench comprising Justice B S Patil and Justice B V Nagarathna said that the new stipulation under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, is unconstitutional. It ordered that the 2008 rule — mandating that the warnings cover 40% of the packet — should replace the existing rule.