The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has put FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe’s department in the dock, sharply questioning its raid on Wardha’s Gorus Bhandar without serving prior notice. In a pointed query, a bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode asked: if the department acts directly against those who break the law, should the court act directly — without notice — against officers who bypass the rules? The bench also demanded to know how many times the outlet was inspected in the past 70 years, and how often uncleanliness was actually found.
The FDA had swooped on the Gorus Bhandar, run by a cow milk producers’ cooperative from Wardha, on May 31, seizing suspected unsafe dairy products worth Rs 25,86,168 and sealing the establishment citing poor hygiene. Milk collection, sale and dairy production were halted until further orders.
The cooperative challenged the action in the High Court, pointing out that the outlet handles around 9,000 litres of milk daily and sustains nearly 800 families across 15 villages in Wardha district, with farmers and milk producers suffering heavy losses. The FDA’s affidavit defended the raid as being in the interest of public health, but the government pleader could not satisfactorily explain the legal provision for direct action without notice. The department must now submit 70 years of inspection reports by Friday, after which the court is expected to rule.
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