COCHIN, India, 23 September 2006 — The Kerala High Court yesterday overturned a ban on Coca-Cola and Pepsi by the southern Indian state, calling it “unreasonable, arbitrary and illegal.”

The state’s communist government banned the production and sale of these drinks last month after the New Delhi-based NGO, Center for Science and Environment (CSE), said they contained unsafe levels of pesticides.

However, Kerala’s top elected official vowed to re-impose the ban. “The court’s verdict quashing the Kerala government’s order is unfortunate and the government is exploring legal steps to take corrective measures to reinforce the ban,” Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan told reporters.

State Health Minister P.K. Sreemathi said the government would challenge the verdict in India’s Supreme Court.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi told the court in a petition that the ban was unconstitutional and their products were safe to consume. They cited a Supreme Court verdict that said the state has no jurisdiction to ban such products.

The court accepted their argument that the NGO’s report was incomplete and the government’s decision, which did not seek their clarification, was taken in haste.

“We are gratified that the High Court of Kerala has set aside the illegal orders of the government of Kerala,” Coca-Cola’s Public Affairs Manager in India Ameer Shahul said. “This order protects the interests of big and small retailers, local entrepreneurs and employees who have been affected by this illegal ban.”

PepsiCo said the ruling validates their belief in the quality of their products. “PepsiCo products in India comply with the most stringent Indian and international regulation,” a statement said.

Reacting to the court’s ruling, CSE chief Sunita Narain said she hoped the federal government would act now on her report.

“The government has not come out with any data that there are no pesticides,” she said on a regional television news program. “Whatever is the situation, the drinks are not safe till there are some regulations for them.”

Residents of Plachimada village, who are spearheading a campaign against a local Coca-Cola plant, say the plant depletes water tables and pollutes environment. Yesterday, they vowed to continue their fight until the US soft drink giant is out of the state. “We would approach every available forum till justice is done,” their leader T. R. Ajayan said.

The All India Youth Federation (AIYF), a communist feeder outfit, said it would use force to block the distribution of the products in Kerala.

Achuthanandan, who assumed power in May, was in the forefront of the agitation that received national attention after writer Arundhati Roy and environmental activist Medha Patkar backed it.

The Coke plant stopped production after the local village council canceled its registration last year. But the local market is still flooded with their Coca-Cola and Pepsi products from the neighboring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states.

The Kerala ban was the harshest in India, where seven of the country’s 28 states imposed partial or complete bans on Coke, Pepsi, Sprite and other drinks from the companies after the CSE made the pesticide allegations on Aug. 3. More than 10,000 schools also have banned the beverages.

Although many food products in India contain harmful pesticides, the CSE said it focused on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo because they account for nearly 80 percent of India’s $2 billion soft drink market.

The federal government had no immediate comment on the court ruling.