Law… Is it for real?

Law touches the lives of people in so many ways they are not even aware of. Registration of birth is compulsory, so is of death. And between these two registrations there are innumerable Acts, Rules, Notifications, Guidelines, Circulars, Notices and what not which control and record so many transactions in the lives of people. All these laws are either passed by Parliament/ Legislature or are released by authorities and are published in a magazine called 'The Gazette of India'. How many of us have seen such a magazine in our lifetime?

Since the last century nations are coming together and agreeing to bring uniformity into their laws. This means that a person will encounter the same set of rules and regulations in all the countries in the world. This has brought people closer and has accelerated the process of globalization.

Let me take one example to show how one particular law touches our daily lives. We all buy different commodities in a ‘pre-packed’ format from small shops to big malls. The commodities range from eatables to dry batteries to medicines. There are certain details which are mentioned on these packages. There are a set of rules prescribed called Standard of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977 for almost all pre-packed commodities.

There are certain details which should be mentioned on all these packages. They are Name & address of manufacturer, Common or generic name of commodity, net quantity, Month & day of packing, Maximum Retail Price (MRP), etc. It is specified that these details should be at a very prominent location on the package.

Also remember that the Rules prohibit a retailer from charging even One Rupee more than the MRP printed on a packaged product.

Moreover for Prevention of Food Adulteration mention of Colours (e.g. ‘Contains permitted Natural/ and Synthetic Colours/ Added Flavours’) and ‘Best before Upto __ date’ is also to be mentioned on food packages. In case of foodstuff the ingredients which are used for making are also to be mentioned. In case of medicines the chemical composition of the drug needs to be mentioned.

There are very few commodities where the Month & day of packing is not mentioned (Earlier milk and milk products was one, but this has now changed). In special cases like glass bottles of softdrinks which are returnable the Month & day of packing should be mentioned on the cap.

So the next time you buy any packaged commodity, don’t forget to check for these details. These are for protection for us Consumers. And also remember the laws which made it possible to view all these details which help us to make informed choices.