Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Saturday warned FDA officers of issuing a show-cause notice for contempt of court for not following its previous order in the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) plea and vacated the suspension of licences of five restaurants at the premier club at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) after the regulator quietly offered to withdraw its notice. “This (suspension reversal) happens in almost every case,’’ said HC bench of Acting Chief Justice RV Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad.The HC had on August 25 directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a fresh inspection, apply its mind to the privity of contracts between MCA and the service provider that operates the restaurants and catering at the sprawling club and take a “pragmatic approach’’ on the licensing issue. The fresh reports show a 88 to 97% compliance to all rules and licence conditions which is considered “exemplary,’’ submitted senior counsel Vineet Naik for Shirke Infrastructure, Pune, which operates the restaurants. Senior counsel VR Dhond for MCA said there was no reason now for the FSSAI licence to remain suspended.A fresh order of the FDA, however, raised issues over the licence and the ACJ asked for the officer’s name who issued the order. “Does the court order not mean anything to you at all? Does the HC order have no value?’’ the ACJ asked. “They (officers) may not have understood it,’’ additional government pleader PP Kakade said tentatively, to which the ACJ Ghuge said, “Our order was in simple English with no complex words used.” Justice Ankhad added, “if you didn’t understand the order, what about the scheme of the Food Safety and Standards Act? Did you not understand that as well?” The HC lamented what it said was a lack of application of mind by the department’s officers. “You do not read the orders, nor the law, nor rules…’’ said the ACJ orally and said unless it passes a “stinging order,’’ things would not change.The HC questioned the “undue haste’’ shown by the FDA without applying its mind. ‘How many times should we try to convince and balance equities so that the department doesn’t feel discouraged? We praise you when its needed. Last time, we we lauded your action against milk adulteration…but be consistent…why did we say ‘don’t kill a mosquito with a sword? We wanted you to measure your actions. Do you think you (FDA) are a Lord ...you can do anything?’’“We are tired of scolding the department and officers,’’ said the ACJ and observed that the FDA took a “pedantic, instead of a pragmatic view,’’ which HC had directed it to when conducting a fresh inspection. On Aug 21, FDA had suspended the licences at MCA eateries, citing hygiene issues and also issues with licensing, as it said the eateries were run by one entity while the licence was issued to MCA.Dhond and Naik pointed out the contract for the business operator, and while the FDA had continued the suspension on Saturday, it offered to withdraw and issue a fresh notice on such contractual agreement after being at HC’s receiving end.
