Bombay High Court issues notice to Union government on PIL filed against its stake in ITC

MUMBAI: Bombay High Court on Monday issued notice to Union government for responding on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by two trustee of Tata Trust -- R Venkataramanan and Laxman Sethuraman -- along with five others against public sector insurance companies for investing in tobacco companies.

The Honourable Court set April 27, 2017 as the date for hearing the admissibility of the PIL. The court has issued notices to the government through secretary, ministry of health & family welfare to respond to the PIL.

Shares of ITC ended 0.3% lower at Rs 279. Such investments by government run companies contradict the anti-tobacco stance of the government of India on a national and international level, the PIL said.

Four public sector insurance companies and the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust Of India (SUUTI) hold a 30.25% stake in ITC worth about Rs 1.03 lakh crore.

While Life Insurance Corp. of India has a 16.29% stake, SUUTI’s holding is 9.10%. On February 7, the government sold 2% of its stake in ITC held through SUUTI to LIC for Rs 6,700 crore. Other companies named in the PIL include General Insurance Co., New India Assurance Co., Oriental Insurance Co. and National Insurance Co. New India Assurance holds a 1.71% stake in VST Industries.