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Bombay HC Raps Maharashtra FDA For ‘Going Overboard’ In Suspending Pune Shop’s License, Orders Rs 5 Lakh Payout
Bombay HC fined the Maharashtra FDA Rs 5 lakh for keeping a Pune sweet shop’s license suspended despite 98% compliance, calling the FDA’s approach “strange and perverse.”
The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to Gurunanak Dairy and Sweets, a Pune-based sweets shop, for keeping its licence suspended despite a 98 per cent compliance report — a delay the court said caused the shop financial losses and reflected the regulator “going overboard.”
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad, while permitting the shop to reopen, ordered the FDA to pay the compensation within a month. The bench termed the department’s order suspending licences of eateries and hotels a “strange policy and perverse,” even as it acknowledged the FDA’s underlying intent was “laudable.”
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Why Did The Court Fine The FDA?
“We have observed that your intention is laudable and some department has at least stood up. But you are going overboard. You should have immediately revoked the suspension of the licence once you noticed 98 per cent compliance,” the bench observed, according to PTI.
What Led To The License Suspension?
The shop’s ordeal began on June 12, when an FDA food safety officer inspected its premises following a complaint of food poisoning and flagged sanitation and staff hygiene concerns. The department suspended the licence the same day.
Gurunanak Dairy and Sweets appealed before the FDA Commissioner and submitted a compliance report. On July 13, a re-inspection found the shop 98 per cent compliant, yet the licence was not restored.
The owners then submitted a representation seeking revocation of the suspension, and when the FDA took no action, moved the High Court.
The petition stated the shop had lost Rs 8.74 lakh in revenue since its closure in June.
What Did The FDA Say?
FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe told PTI he would examine the order before responding. “I have to see the order, then I will respond. FDA would act according to the law and prescribed processes. We go as per the law, as per the processes, we follow it, and we implement it,” he said.
Is This Part Of A Wider Crackdown?
The court’s rebuke comes even as the Mundhe-led FDA has been running an intensified statewide “Safe Food, Safe Drug, Safe Maharashtra” campaign.
On August 13 alone, FDA teams inspected 86 establishments across the state — including restaurants and quick-commerce facilities — issuing 60 improvement notices, ordering one outlet to shut immediately, and suspending 14 food-business licences, according to media reports.
Among the establishments named in that action were Pune’s historic Burger King outlet on East Street, operational since 1992, along with Fortune Enterprises at Hotel Sayaji in Lonavala, Hotel Chul Mutton in Lohegaon, and Domino’s and Pizza Hut outlets in Karad. Between August 11 and 14, 16 establishments in the Pune division alone had licences or registrations suspended over hygiene violations.
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18The Bombay High Court has expressed concerns about the Maharashtra FDA’s actions in multiple cases, noting that authorities often failed to follow due process before suspending licences. This suggests that other businesses facing similar situations could potentially seek compensation.
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Original source: https://www.news18.com/
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