‘Don’t kill a mosquito with a sword’: HC raps FDA for cancelling Amazon’s licence

The remark was made by a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad while hearing an appeal by Amazon Retail against the suspension of its licence by the FDA

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday sharply criticised the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) cancellation of Amazon Retail India’s food licence, saying, “We need to tell you that in order to implement your policies vigorously, you try to kill a mosquito with a sword.”

The remark was made by a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad while hearing an appeal by Amazon Retail against the suspension of its licence by the FDA. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

The remark was made by a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad while hearing an appeal by Amazon Retail against the suspension of its licence by the FDA, after the regulator inspected its Bhiwandi warehouse on June 24 and alleged that the company was sending expired food into the retail market instead of scientifically destroying it.

The following day, the FDA suspended Amazon Retail’s licence without issuing an improvement notice. Later, on July 1, the FDA issued a show-cause notice to Amazon and cancelled its licence.

The court pulled up the FDA for its approach only a week after the same bench rapped the food safety regulator for focusing on private establishments while sparing government canteens. The court in fact queried the FDA on an inspection report that certified the staff canteens at Mantralaya and Vidhan Bhawan as “98% compliant” despite photographic evidence to the contrary.

During Friday’s hearing, the court applauded the FDA for its crackdown on eateries and other establishments but asked the regulator if it intended to shut all commercial establishments to deal with food safety violations. “As we have already said earlier, we appreciate your action. This is laudable, and you deserve a compliment. But you have to go systematically. In order to deal with this situation, will you shut down all commercial establishments in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Palghar, the bench remarked.

On Amazon Retail’s plea, the court reminded the FDA that a food licence cannot ordinarily be cancelled when an appeal against its suspension is pending before the court. “It is a settled law that during the appeal period, no such action can be taken. Procedure has to be followed,” the bench said, while posting the matter for further hearing to August 10.