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The Bombay High Court has strongly reprimanded the Tukaram Mundhe-led Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration, telling it “you are going overboard” in the case of a Pune sweet shop. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad set aside the continued suspension of Gurunanak Dairy and Sweets’ food licence despite a re-inspection showing 98% compliance (35 of 36 parameters).

The court acknowledged the FDA’s intention to enforce food safety as “laudable” but said the department had gone too far by keeping the shop closed for over a month after substantial compliance. It described the policy as “strange” and “perverse,” calling the prolonged suspension “torturing citizens.” The bench ordered the FDA to pay ₹5 lakh compensation within 30 days and allowed the shop to reopen immediately. The action stemmed from a June food poisoning complaint, after which the licence was suspended without prompt restoration following the July re-inspection.