Indian liquor firm Som challenges license suspension in child labour case

Som Distilleries and Breweries

27/06/2024 16:50

By Jatindra Dash and Arpan  Chaturvedi
       BHUBANESWAR, June 27 (Reuters) - Indian liquor company
Som Group has asked a state court to quash a government decision
to temporarily suspend manufacturing licenses of one of its
distilleries where a federal agency found 59 children working
illegally, a court filing showed. 
    Police, who have been investigating the Som distillery in
Raisen district in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, locked
its premises after the National Commission for Protection of
Child Rights this month found 39 boys and 20 girls working at
the factory. 
    The agency also released photos of children's hands it said
showed burns due to contact with chemicals, and said some of the
children were transported to the factory in school buses. 
    In a 169-page court filing in the High Court of Madhya
Pradesh, Som argued the licenses were wrongly suspended as the
investigation into the allegations of child labour were still
ongoing.
    "There is no conclusion to the effect as to whether in
reality any child was employed or not," Som Distilleries Pvt Ltd
said in a court filing, which is not public but was reviewed by
Reuters.
    Som did not respond to a request for comment, and neither
did the Madhya Pradesh state government. The case was heard on
Thursday but no order was passed.
    In the previous statement, Som Distilleries and Breweries
Ltd  SDB.NS  said the issue was related to a plant run by its
associate company, which used labour supplied by contractors who
may not have carried out proper age checks. 
    The firm's stock has fallen 9.3% since the human rights
agency visited the distillery on June 15.

 (Reporting by Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar, Arpan Chaturvedi
and Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Paul Simao)
 ((tanvi.mehta@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/TanviMehta710;))