Legal Showdown in Mumbai

The legal battlelines between state governance and central authority have intensified as the Maharashtra government formally petitioned the Bombay High Court. The state has challenged the constitutional validity of regulations enforced by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), alleging that the central watchdog has systematically usurped state powers and established an "illegal parallel system."

The petition was filed through Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, an official widely recognized for his aggressive crackdowns on unsafe food storage and handling practices by major consumer brands across the state.

At the core of the state's legal challenge is the appointment of "Central Food Safety Officers" by the apex body. Maharashtra argues that this move strips state-level commissioners of their statutory licensing and enforcement rights granted under the overarching Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006.

Disputed Orders and Centralized Portals

The state's legal action specifically targets a contentious FSSAI order issued in May 2023. That directive barred state-level food safety officers from conducting inspections of centrally licensed business entities, shifting all centralised businesses exclusively onto the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) digital platform—an upgraded portal succeeding the earlier Food Licensing and Registration System.

Furthermore, Maharashtra has contested a March notification that raised business turnover thresholds without conducting mandatory public consultations. The petition demands the immediate scrapping of these rules, an injunction staying the inspection ban, and the full restoration of the licensing database under state administrative control.

Judicial Scrutiny and FSSAI Mandate

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mahesh C Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna has been assigned to hear the petition.

Established under the 2006 legislation to consolidate a fragmented regulatory landscape, the FSSAI is statutorily empowered to frame food standards, govern certification and laboratory accreditation bodies, and provide technical and scientific advisory support to both central and state governments on public health and nutrition matters. However, this constitutional challenge tests the boundaries of federal jurisdiction in India's complex multi-tier regulatory framework.