Gold sold in State is adulterated with carcinoge

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday observed that highly carcinogenic components such as iridium and ruthenium were freely being added to gold ornaments sold in the state."This is evident from the records available," the court said citing the affidavit submitted by the Director of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).A Division Bench comprising Justice A K Basheer and Justice P Q Barkath Ali made the observation in a suo motu case based on a complaint received from N Shankara Menon.Menon, in a letter sent to Justice J B Koshy in 2009, had alleged that the manufacturers of gold ornaments were adulterating the ornaments with a high percentage of metal components like iridium and ruthenium which are distributed through various jewellery. The BIS director in an affidavit filed in connection with the case submitted that the action under the BIS Act could be taken only after amending the schedule of Industries (Development and Regulations) Act.The proposed amendment stipulates that gold arte facts must be free from iridium and ruthenium.The BIS Director further said that the differences of opinion between the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industries and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs delayed implementation of the amendment.He also said that the BIS hallmarking scheme for gold was voluntary in nature and therefore there could not be any control by the department.The court observed that it was unfortunate that the Central Government was not giving top priority to the issue. The state should take steps to persuade the Centre to take action in that regard.