- By Vaidika Thapa
- Sat, 29 Aug 2026 04:24 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Bombay HC quashes FDA's suspension of MCA BKC food licenses.
- Court reprimanded FDA for rushed, arbitrary action without proper reasons.
- FDA failed to follow court directions and Food Safety Act.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday withdrew its orders suspending the food licences of five eateries at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) club in Mumbai. The decision came after the Bombay High Court criticised the FDA for taking rushed and arbitrary action without giving proper reasons.
Bombay High Court Questions FDA Action
During the hearing of a plea filed by the MCA against the suspension orders issued on August 21, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam A Ankhad reprimanded FDA officials for their action. The court questioned the FDA for failing to follow its directions and for passing suspension orders without proper reasoning.
"I don't know why you people are in such an undue haste. Do you have any problems with the High Court's order? If there are thousand contempt petitions filed in the court, 500 are on account of the State's disobedience," the court remarked as quoted by the Bar and Bench. The High Court had earlier heard the matter on Tuesday and directed the FDA to carry out a fresh inspection of the five outlets.
The Bombay High Court reprimanded the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and quashed its orders suspending the licences of food stalls at the BKC premises operated by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). The court termed the FDA’s action rushed and lacking a… pic.twitter.com/F1dz6z1rct
— IANS (@ians_india) August 29, 2026
What Did The Court Say?
The FDA submitted its inspection reports before the court on Saturday, which showed compliance across all the required parameters. However, the court questioned the way the FDA's assistant commissioner had handled the matter. The Bench said the officer appeared to have acted like a ‘novice’ while issuing the orders without proper reasoning or a detailed analysis under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
“You don't understand our order, you don't understand the Act also. So you don't read your rules. You don't read the statute. You don't read our order. But you shoot!" the court stated. The judges said that maintaining food hygiene is important, however, they added that authorities must ensure that their actions are reasonable.
“Don't kill a mosquito with a sword. We wanted you to measure your actions. Do you feel that you are Lord? You can do anything?” the bench observed. The court subsequently set aside the Maharashtra FDA's orders suspending the food licences of the five outlets at the MCA's BKC premises.