Bombay HC fines Maharashtra FDA Rs 5 lakh over Pune shop license

The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration to pay Rs 5 lakh in compensation to Gurunanak Dairy and Sweets, a Pune sweets shop, for keeping its licence suspended despite a 98 percent compliance report. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad termed the regulator's policy 'strange' and 'perverse', and said the department had gone 'overboard'.

The shop's licence was suspended on June 12 after a food safety officer raised concerns over sanitation and staff hygiene following a food poisoning complaint. The shop submitted a compliance report, and a re-inspection on July 13 found it 98 percent compliant. Despite this, the FDA did not revoke the suspension, and the shop moved the high court, claiming it had lost Rs 8.74 lakh in revenue.

The court permitted the shop to reopen and ordered the FDA to pay the compensation within a month. FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said he would examine the order before responding, adding that the department would act according to the law.