The Bombay High Court on Saturday dealt a double blow to the Tukaram Mundhe -led Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), forcing the regulator to backtrack on two major enforcement actions after being admonished for acting against the “principles of natural justice” and taking a “pedantic instead of pragmatic view.”
“However, despite clearly saying this, the FDA has disobeyed our order and taken a pedantic view instead of a pragmatic view. We are tired of scolding the department and officers all the time. It is now time to pass stinging orders. We will issue contempt action against the concerned officers.
In a separate setback for the agency, the FDA informed the court that it would also withdraw its order suspending the operations of five restaurants at the MCA premises in Bandra-Kurla Complex after the court warned of stinging orders against officials, noting that a fresh inspection showed the eateries were 88 per cent compliant with food safety rules.
Pulling up the FDA for showing “undue haste” in passing orders without analysing the law in connection with eateries on the Mumbai Cricket Association premises, the high court asked: “Do you feel you are a Lord and you can do anything? The court said there is no provision under the law prohibiting the same, noting that on the last hearing the court had specifically asked the FDA officials to apply their mind and take a pragmatic view of the situation. Let them convince us or go to jail,” the HC said. When warned of contempt action, the FDA said it would issue a fresh notice to MCA and grant them a hearing on the issue of the contract between the association and Shirke Infrastructure and then pass a reasoned order.
