'Beyond scope of law': Bombay HC stays FDA's suspension of milk vendors' licenses

The Bombay High Court has on Monday, July 27, granted an interim stay on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to suspend the licenses of several milk suppliers and vendors in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, ruling that authorities failed to follow due process before taking action.

Justice S G Chapalgaonkar of the court's Aurangabad bench issued the orders over the past week in separate petitions filed by the affected vendors and suppliers. The bench held that the law required the FDA to issue improvement notices and provide a hearing before suspending anyone’s licenses.

"This court, prima facie, finds that action under (the) impugned order is 'dehors' (beyond the scope of) the requisite procedure under Section 32 of Food Safety and Standards," which mandates an improvement notice, the bench said.

The FDA had suspended the petitioners' licenses earlier this month, citing violations of food safety guidelines. The vendors argued that the deficiencies cited were minor and that the law required an improvement notice before any suspension.

The bench agreed, finding that in most cases the deficiencies flagged during inspections were not serious enough to justify shutting down milk processing units or abruptly suspending licenses.

Rahul Karpe, the petitioners' advocate argued that a show-cause notice or a hearing should have preceded the suspensions. The government countered that FDA officers have the authority to suspend licenses without prior notice.

The bench rejected that argument, saying it found no urgent circumstances that would justify suspending the licenses without an improvement notice or a hearing.

The court issued notice to the FDA and granted the interim stay on its suspension order.