Setback for Tukaram Mundhe? Bombay HC fines FDA ₹5 lakh in Pune sweet shop case

Bombay High Court Orders ₹5 Lakh Fine Against FDA After Pune Sweet Shop’s 34-Day Shutdown

Indiadailyupdate.com – In a ruling that lands as a sharp rebuke to the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration under Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, a division bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the agency to pay a ₹5 lakh penalty to a Wadgaon Sheri sweet shop within 30 days. The order came after the establishment, Gurunanak Dairy and Sweets, was forced to close its doors for 34 consecutive days despite having cleared its re-inspection with a near-perfect score.

The Court’s Verdict

Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge, sitting with Justice Gautam A. Ankhad, struck down the FDA’s suspension order and permitted the shop to resume trading immediately. The bench characterised the agency’s continued enforcement of the ban as

“a strange policy and perversity”

and directed that the licence revocation be undone without further delay. The ₹5 lakh fine, payable within a month, was imposed as compensation for the revenue the shop lost during the closure — an amount the owners placed at ₹8.5 lakh.

What Triggered the Closure

The sequence began on June 12, when the Maharashtra FDA pulled the sweet shop’s licence following complaints of food poisoning. An inspection of the premises uncovered multiple lapses in sanitation, equipment maintenance, and general hygiene. Weeks later, the shop’s management submitted a July 9 compliance report to Commissioner Mundhe, itemising corrective steps taken against each cited violation.

Four days after that submission, an FDA inspector returned to the site and scored the establishment at 35 out of 36 marks — equivalent to 98 per cent food-safety compliance. Yet the licence stayed frozen. Frustrated, the owners filed a petition before the Bombay High Court.

The Bench’s Reaction

Counsel for the FDA attempted to defend the continued suspension, arguing that an appeal had been heard and was reserved for judgment as of August 11. The court dismissed the explanation as a

“lame excuse”

and criticised the agency for

“torturing citizens”

by holding a licence in limbo after the shop had demonstrably met the compliance threshold. The judges added a pointed observation:

“We have earlier observed that your intention is laudable and some department has at least stood up. But you are going overboard.”

The remark came amid the FDA’s widely reported enforcement sweep across Maharashtra’s five-star hotels, restaurants, clubs, and quick-commerce operators — a campaign the court acknowledged as well-intentioned but, in this instance, overreaching.