The court also directed all the bottled water companies, including Nestle, to remove faults in their products within 10 days and make water purification system commonly known as “reverse osmosis” free of all deficiencies.
The two-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, was hearing the case relating to the quality of mineral water, being sold by bottled water companies.
At that, the CJ ordered the PFA to get the director of the bottling company arrested after lodging a criminal case against him, but withdrew the order on the request of Nestle water company’s counsel Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan.
The auditor general’s report also found that the cost of a 1.5 litre water bottle, including packaging, comes to Rs8.79.
During the course of hearing, Chief Justice Nisar also called Nestle’s chief executive officer Ms Freda Yahan Duplan to the rostrum and questioned her as to why her company had not maintained the water quality in Pakistan like in other countries.
After Khan asked the court for forgiveness, the orders for his arrest were withdrawn.
While hearing the case, the court also directed an inspection of Shezan International Limited.
The Environmental Protection Agency-Federal Director General Farzana Shah told the bench that though arsenic was not been found in all the groundwater samples, but the companies did not establish their own laboratories to examine the ingredients of the water being extracted by them.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan noted that the water polluted with arsenic is being discharged in sewage by these companies after water purification process/reverse osmosis.
“It means these companies are polluting the aquifer with arsenic,” Chief Justice Nisar added.