HC directs ADM to dispose of 2016 case against company within 1 month
Cuttack: Orissa high court has pulled up the additional district magistrate-cum-adjudicating authority, Cuttack, for inordinate delay of over nine years in adjudicating a case against a company over alleged food safety violations.
Justice S K Panigrahi, hearing the company's petition, termed the prolonged pendency of the 2016 case as an "abuse of process" and ordered its final disposal within one month. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the ADM for the delay, directing payment to the company within four weeks.
The proceedings stemmed from a 2015 report by the food safety officer, following seizure of samples from the company's depot in Cuttack.
The report raised concerns over the presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG), prompting initiation of adjudication proceedings.
However, the petitioner argued that the continued proceedings were arbitrary and violated the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (
FSSAI
) order dated March 31, 2016. FSSAI had clarified that glutamate occurs naturally in several food items, and current analytical methods cannot conclusively distinguish between naturally occurring and added MSG.
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Enforcement, it added, should only proceed when a product explicitly claims 'no MSG' or 'no added MSG' and MSG is later detected.
Despite the company filing representations in 2016 and again in 2018 seeking dismissal of the case, the ADM failed to pass any order.
Justice Panigrahi, expressing concern, said, "This court is at a loss to understand how such an extraordinary delay has occurred, and more alarmingly, how it continued unchecked."
He noted that the delay reflects "a disturbing disregard for procedural discipline" and that prescribed legal timelines are not mere formalities but essential for justice. The court further stated that such delays erode the credibility of regulatory frameworks and highlighted the importance of adhering to statutory timelines under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Justice S K Panigrahi directed the ADM to finally hear and dispose of the matter within one month stating, "Legal proceedings cannot be allowed to linger in perpetuity."
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