India
Who Checks Your Food? Maharashtra FDA Challenges FSSAI's Inspection Powers In High Court
By: News18 India
Published: 24 October 2026
Photo / Illustration: Haldwani Times News Desk
<p>Maharashtra’s Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has moved the Bombay High Court against the Centre and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), alleging an illegal “parallel system" that takes over the state’s power to inspect food businesses. The court will hear the case next on November 26.</p>
<p>The petition, filed by the State of Maharashtra through its Commissioner of Food Safety, came up on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna.</p>
<p>At its core is a simple question: who gets to check whether the food served at big restaurants, hotels and manufacturing units is safe, the state or the Centre? The FDA says the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 gave that job to the states, and that the FSSAI has gradually taken it over.</p>
<p>The state has sought three things: that the court strike down the central regulations it calls contentious, stay an FSSAI circular dated May 12, 2023, and direct the FSSAI to hand all registration records on its online portal, the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), back to state officers.</p>
<p>According to the petition, Parliament meant the 2006 law to spread food safety work across states. Under it, the State Food Safety Commissioner and local authorities inspect eateries, grant manufacturing licences and prosecute errant businesses.</p>
<p>The FDA alleges that the FSSAI’s Chief Executive Officer used his powers to create posts such as “Central Licensing Authority" and “Central Food Safety Officer", which the Act does not provide for.</p>
<p>The state argues the CEO’s role is limited to framing food safety standards and clearing imported food at entry ports, not routine inspections in local neighbourhoods.</p>
<p>The FDA calls it a key point of dispute. According to the petition, the circular stopped state officers from inspecting or acting against businesses that hold a Central Licence. The state says this weakened its ability to monitor food safety on the ground and wants it stayed immediately.</p>
<p>The petition alleges the portal was deliberately set up to bring as many food businesses as possible under central licensing, which the state says widened the FSSAI’s reach at the cost of the system the 2006 law intended.</p>
<p>Senior FDA officials said they want to reclaim the state’s right to inspect every food business as it sees fit.</p>
<p>At present, they said, businesses with a turnover of Rs 50 crore or more fall under the Central Licensing Authority. This means the state FDA needs prior written permission from the FSSAI each time it wants to inspect such businesses or 3-star hotels.</p>
<p>One official said the only recent exception was the inspection of Park Inn by Radisson in Navi Mumbai, whose food licence the FDA suspended.</p>
<p>“At that time, we had a complaint, based on which the FDA commissioner (Tukaram Mundhe) allowed us to move forward," the official said. In other cases, the official added, “we had to seek permission or have FSSAI officers accompany us".</p>
<p>The Maharashtra FDA filed a petition against the Centre and the FSSAI alleging an illegal parallel system that has gradually taken over the state's statutory power to inspect food businesses under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.</p>
<p>The state has asked the court to strike down contentious central regulations, stay an FSSAI circular from May 12, 2023, and order the FSSAI to transfer all FoSCoS portal registration records back to state officers.</p>
<p>The FDA argues the May 12, 2023 circular unlawfully restricts state officers from inspecting Central Licence holders. Additionally, it claims the FoSCoS portal was configured to bring more businesses under central licensing at the expense of the 2006 law's decentralised system.</p>
