27 June 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : 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.