Bombay High Court Directs Maharashtra FDA to Pay 5 Lakh to Pune Sweet Shop
The Bombay High Court directed the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration to pay 5 lakh in compensation to a Pune-based dairy and sweets retailer after the regulator failed to revoke its license suspension despite a high safety compliance rating. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam A Ankhad vacated the suspension order against Gurunanak Dairy and Sweets located in Wadgaon Sheri, permitting the business to resume operations. The judges held the state agency accountable for keeping the establishment closed for 34 days, noting that the agency went overboard in enforcing regulatory procedures.
The legal dispute originated when the food safety authority suspended the sweet shop's operational license following a food poisoning complaint and hygiene concerns. The shop owners subsequently addressed the cited deficiencies, submitted a compliance report, and requested a re-inspection. During the follow-up assessment, the food safety officer scored the establishment 35 out of 36 parameters, establishing a 98 percent compliance score. Despite meeting nearly all prescribed hygiene and maintenance standards, the authority refused to restore the shop's license, citing an ongoing internal appeal process.
During the court proceedings, the state counsel argued that the license could not be reinstated while an administrative appeal filed by the retailer was pending before the department commissioner. The High Court rejected this explanation, characterizing it as a lame excuse and a perverse policy. The bench observed that enforcing public food safety is a laudable goal, but forcing a compliant establishment to remain shut while awaiting procedural clearances amounts to torturing citizens and causing unnecessary business harassment.
Representing the petitioner, advocate Abhijeet Desai informed the court that the prolonged 34-day shutdown resulted in financial losses exceeding 8.5 lakh, as the retail outlet typically earned around 25,000 per day. Citing precedent where suspensions were rendered void upon achieving full safety compliance, the petitioner argued that the delay lacked legal justification. The High Court agreed that pendency of an appeal should not prevent a compliant establishment from functioning and ordered the regulatory body to deposit the compensation amount within 30 days.