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Synthetic milk case: Court grants anticipatory bail to dairy unit director
A food safety team raided Navkar Distributor at Bhormala, near Avsari Khurd, on July 4 and allegedly seized 1,385 kg of material, including whey powder and other substances suspected to be used in milk adulteration
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A Khed court has granted anticipatory bail to Kiran Shivaji Gawade, a director and partner of a dairy processing unit, in a case involving an alleged network manufacturing and supplying adulterated synthetic milk.
Additional Sessions Judge AP Kanade observed that the recovery of whey powder, emulsifier and shampoo from another accused was not sufficient, by itself, to establish Gawade’s involvement in the alleged supply chain. The order was passed on November 2.
“The fact that whey powder, emulsifier and shampoo was found in possession of accused Sushant Hinge is itself not sufficient for drawing an inference that the applicant is involved in the chain for supply of adulterated milk,” the court observed.
Manchar Police Station filed the case on July 5, 2026, under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Food Safety and Standards Act.
According to the prosecution, a food safety team raided Navkar Distributor at Bhormala, near Avsari Khurd, on July 4 and allegedly seized 1,385 kg of material, including whey powder and other substances suspected to be used in milk adulteration. Officials also seized 2,767 kg of allegedly artificial milk worth ₹1.64 lakh from Shriram Dairy Farm in Ambegaon taluka.
The prosecution alleged that Hinge supplied a formula for manufacturing synthetic milk using skimmed milk powder, whey powder, palm oil, emulsifier and detergent.
Gawade, a partner and director of Atharva Milk and Milk Product Industries, maintained that he was a genuine dairy operator with a valid Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) registration. His lawyer argued that the chargesheet had been filed, he had no criminal antecedents and another director had already received anticipatory bail.
Opposing the plea, the prosecution cited alleged chemical contamination in dairy samples and WhatsApp chats recovered from Hinge’s phone.
However, the court noted that the whey powder sample met prescribed standards, the investigation was complete and custodial interrogation was not necessary.
Gawade was granted anticipatory bail on a personal bond of ₹25,000 with one surety of the same amount, subject to conditions against witness intimidation and evidence tampering.
