The Madras High Court recently dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed complaining about food wastage on a Tamil-language comedy-based cooking show called 'Cooku with Comali' (cook with comedians) [Syed Alim H v. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and ors].

A Bench of Chief Justice MM Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan dismissed the petition on November 5 after the petitioner, one Syed Alim H, failed to appear before the Court to argue the case.

"None for petitioner in second round also. Petition is dismissed for non-prosecution. Consequently, the interim applications are also dismissed," the Court said.

The petition sought directions from the Court to halt the broadcast the show on the ground that it features tasks that led to deliberate food wastage.

The petitioner also called for exemplary costs to be imposed on the show's makers for violating Articles 21 (right to life and liberty), 47 (which includes a duty of the State to increase the level of public nutrition and improve public health) and 51A(g) (citizen's duty to protect natural resources and have compassion for living creatures) of the Constitution.

The petitioner claimed that the content of the show was such that it caused irreversible harm to public health and nutritional security in Tamil Nadu.

[Read Order]