Now Reading: Bombay HC says FDA overreacted in Amazon warehouse case
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Bombay HC says FDA overreacted in Amazon warehouse case
The Bombay High Court on Friday criticised the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for shutting down an Amazon Retail India warehouse without following procedure, saying the agency was trying to 'kill…
The Story in Brief
The Bombay High Court on Friday criticised the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for shutting down an Amazon Retail India warehouse without following procedure, saying the agency was trying to 'kill a mosquito with a sword'. A division bench noted that the FDA cancelled the warehouse's licence while Amazon's appeal against a licence suspension was still pending, which the court said violated settled law.
Amazon approached the court after FDA officials inspected its Bhiwandi warehouse on June 24 and found nearly 1.5 tonnes of expired food items worth Rs 1.68 lakh stored without authorisation. The FDA suspended the licence the next day without issuing an improvement notice, then cancelled it during the appeal period. An FIR has been registered against the facility manager and others. The court has given the FDA time to file an affidavit and will hear the matter again on August 10.
The Indian Opinion
The 'mosquito with a sword' remark rightly calls out procedural overreach, but it should not let expired food sellers off the hook. FDA chief Tukaram Mundhe’s crackdown on food businesses is popular among consumers weary of hygiene lapses. Yet enforcement must be fair, shutting firms during an appeal invites legal chaos. The real test will come when the court rules on the merits: did Amazon actually send expired products into the market, or was the stock merely awaiting destruction? That fact alone will settle whether the sword was aimed at a mosquito or a ghost.
Source: livemint.com
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