Maharashtra moves Bombay High Court against FSSAI over food safety rules and licensing powers

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has approached the Bombay High Court against the Centre and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) over food safety rules and the way they are enforced. The state alleges that the central authority has created a separate system equivalent to the powers the food safety law gave to state officials, and that this is affecting the state's regulatory role.

The petition has been filed through the state's Commissioner of Food Safety. It challenges changes made to the regulatory framework under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The state has sought that the disputed provisions be quashed, that some directions be stayed, and that the licence records of food business operators be handed over to the concerned state officials.

The state government says the very purpose of the 2006 law was that the responsibility for enforcing food safety rules would rest, in a decentralised system, with the state's Commissioner of Food Safety and the officers under the commissioner. This includes inspecting food establishments, issuing licences and acting against violators.

According to the petition, the chief executive officer of FSSAI built a parallel administrative system through posts such as the central licensing authority and the central food safety officer. The state argues that the parent law gives these posts and their powers no adequate legal basis.

The state has also argued that the central authority's work should be limited to setting food safety standards and regulatory responsibilities relating to imported food. In its view, routine inspection of food businesses within the country and local-level action are the job of state and local authorities.

FSSAI's circular of 12 May 2023 is also a major issue in the dispute. According to the Maharashtra government, this directive barred the state's FDA officials from inspecting and acting against business establishments holding central licences. The state says this weakened the power of local officials to monitor and act. The petition seeks an interim stay on the circular.

The state government has also raised questions about the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), used for online registration and licensing of food businesses. It alleges that the portal's design brought more businesses under the central licensing framework and shrank the role of state officials. The government has asked the High Court to direct that the registration and licence records of businesses be handed over to the concerned state officials.

The petition challenges the licensing rules of 2011, the recruitment rules of 2018 and the amended rules of 2026. It also objects to the notifications of 10 and 13 March that changed the turnover limits fixed for licensing food businesses. The state alleges that the mandatory public objections and suggestions were not invited before these changes. Questioning the validity of the provisions concerned, the government has sought the court's intervention.

The case is listed for hearing on 26 November before a Bench of Chief Justice Maheshchandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna of the Bombay High Court. The main question before the court will be where the limits of the powers of central and state authorities lie under the food safety law, and whether the disputed rules and directions are valid under the existing legal framework.