The United States Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by Nestle and two other companies to dismiss a child slavery case lodged against them, Reuters reported. Nestle, Archer-Daniels-Midland Co and Cargill Inc are being sued over allegations that they used child slaves to harvest cocoa in Ivory Coast.

The lawsuit was filed by former victims of child slavery in Mali. They alleged that the companies aided and abetted human rights violations by purchasing cocoa from Ivory Coast, despite being aware of the child slavery issue. They claim that the companies wanted the cheapest source of cocoa, for which they offered financial and technical assistance to local farmers.

Nestle, the world’s largest food manufacturer, was recently in the midst of a controversy in India. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had banned its popular Maggi instant noodles, declaring it “unsafe and hazardous” due to the lead content found in it.