‘Do you feel you are a lord?’: Bombay HC raps Maharashtra FDA over MCA eateries

The Bombay High Court has sharply criticised the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its handling of five eateries at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra-Kurla Complex premises, questioning the regulator’s haste in suspending their licences and warning officials of contempt proceedings.

'A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad pulled up the Tukaram Mundhe-led FDA for adopting what it described as a “pedantic” rather than pragmatic approach despite earlier directions from the court. The five establishments had been barred from operating after the FDA raised concerns over food safety and hygiene as well as the arrangement under which the restaurants were being operated by Shirke Infrastructure while their licences were in the MCA’s name. The MCA subsequently approached the high court challenging the regulator’s action.

Fresh inspection clears eateries

At an earlier hearing, the court had directed the FDA to conduct another inspection and assess compliance with food safety requirements. It had also asked officials to examine the contractual arrangement between the MCA and the service provider instead of taking an overly technical approach. A fresh inspection subsequently found the eateries to be 88 per cent compliant with food safety norms. Another report said compliance across the establishments ranged between 88 and 97 per cent.

Despite the improvement, the FDA initially maintained its suspension on the ground that Shirke Infrastructure was operating the establishments even though the licences were held in the MCA’s name.

The bench noted that there was no legal provision prohibiting such an arrangement and questioned why the regulator had persisted with the suspension despite its earlier directions.

Court warns of contempt action

The judges expressed displeasure over what they viewed as the FDA’s failure to properly follow the August 25 order asking it to apply its mind and adopt a pragmatic approach.

The court warned that it could initiate contempt proceedings against the officials concerned and even spoke of passing stronger orders if its directions continued to be disregarded. It also questioned the regulator over what it described as repeated “undue haste” in taking action without sufficiently examining the legal position. “Do you feel you are a lord and you can do anything?” the bench asked while questioning the proportionality of the FDA’s action. It also invoked the analogy of not using a sword to kill a mosquito while stressing the need to balance regulatory enforcement with a proportionate response.

FDA withdraws suspension

Following the court’s observations, Additional Government Pleader P P Kakade informed the bench that the FDA would withdraw the suspension order covering the five eateries. The regulator also said it would issue a fresh notice to the MCA over its contractual arrangement with Shirke Infrastructure, provide the association an opportunity to be heard and subsequently pass a reasoned order. With the suspension withdrawn and the establishments found compliant following the fresh inspection, the high court allowed the five eateries to resume operations and disposed of the petitions.