The Bombay High Court set aside the food licence suspension after the Pune shop achieved 98% compliance with food safety requirements.
The Bombay High Court on Monday ordered the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to pay Rs 5 lakh to a Pune sweets shop, observing that the regulator went “overboard” by continuing to suspend its food licence despite the establishment achieving 98 per cent compliance.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam A Ankhad set aside the suspension imposed on Gurunanak Dairy and Sweets and allowed the establishment to resume operations. The compensation is to be paid within 30 days.
The court questioned why the FDA continued the suspension after its own re-inspection found that the establishment had complied with 35 of the 36 prescribed food safety parameters.
Describing the approach as “plain and simple perversity”, the bench said the FDA should have restored the licence immediately after the re-inspection showed 98 per cent compliance. The court also termed the regulator’s policy “strange”.
The case arose after an FDA food safety officer inspected the Pune shop on June 12 following a complaint of food poisoning. Officials found shortcomings related to sanitation, hygiene and maintenance and suspended the shop’s food licence on the same day.
The shop challenged the action before the FDA Commissioner and submitted a compliance report on July 9. A fresh inspection conducted on July 13 found that the establishment had met 35 out of 36 food safety parameters, translating into 98 per cent compliance.
Despite the improved compliance report, the FDA did not revoke the suspension. The owners subsequently approached the High Court, claiming that the continued closure resulted in a revenue loss of Rs 8.74 lakh over 34 days.
The FDA argued that the shop’s appeal against the original suspension was still pending before the appellate authority and had been reserved for judgment on August 11.
The High Court rejected the explanation, holding that the pendency of the appeal did not prevent the department from considering its own subsequent inspection findings.
FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said he would examine the court order before responding. He maintained that the department had acted in accordance with the prescribed law and procedure.
The ruling comes amid an intensified enforcement campaign by the Maharashtra FDA against food businesses. On August 13, the regulator inspected 86 establishments linked to online food delivery and quick-commerce operations across Maharashtra. It suspended 14 food business licences and issued 60 improvement notices.
The wider enforcement drive also covered dairy products, hotels, restaurants and other food establishments. The FDA seized 698 kg of dairy stock and registered 10 FIRs involving banned products, including pan masala and gutkha. Nine people were arrested in those cases.
The High Court’s order did not question the FDA’s responsibility to enforce food safety standards. Instead, it drew a distinction between strict action against violations and continuing punitive restrictions after a business had substantially complied with the regulator’s own requirements.
