100% compliant, yet shut: Bombay HC raps FDA, revokes licence suspension of resto-bar

The court also indicated that it would consider directing the FDA to compensate the hotel for the financial losses caused by the delay.

The Bombay High Court on Monday revoked the suspension of the FSSAI licence of a Navi Mumbai bar and restaurant, observing that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had failed to restore the licence even after the establishment was found 100% compliant with food safety norms during a re-inspection.

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The court also indicated that it would consider directing the FDA to compensate the hotel for the financial losses caused by the delay.

FDA to carry out fresh inspection

A division bench of acting chief justice Ravindra V Ghuge and justice Gautam Ankhad directed the FDA to carry out a fresh inspection of Pawan Bar and Restaurant in CBD Belapur. The bench also asked the hotel to place on record the losses it suffered from July 14 onwards, the day it was awarded full compliance in the re-inspection.

The hotel said it immediately rectified all the shortcomings flagged during the inspection. When FDA officials conducted a re-inspection on July 14, they awarded the establishment 100% compliance, certifying that all deficiencies had been addressed. Despite this, the suspension order was not revoked, forcing the restaurant to remain shut and causing “grave financial hardship” to the business and its employees, the hotel submitted.

During Monday’s hearing, senior advocate Mayur Khandeparkar, along with advocates Shubhra Swami and Sagar Shetty, argued that the delay had also led to the suspension of the hotel’s liquor licence because the food business licence is the principal licence.

“The licence should have been restored immediately after that,” the judges observed. The bench further questioned who would compensate the hotel for the losses suffered after July 14, observing that the FDA would have to answer for the lapse if it failed to revoke the suspension despite its own inspection certifying full compliance.

The government pleader informed the court that the hotel’s appeal against the suspension order was pending before the authorities and a decision was awaited. Acting chief justice Ghuge, however, remarked that while the FDA had remained “sleeping for years” and had now become active under FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, the court could not ignore the injustice caused in the present case.