'Calculated Assault On Public Health': Karnataka High Court Upholds FIR Against Company Allegedly Re-Labeling & Selling Expired Food Products

The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Earth Recycler Pvt. Ltd. and its directors seeking quashing of the FIR registered against them for allegedly collecting expired food products, re-labelling them, and selling them to the unsuspecting public. [2026 LiveLaw (Kar) 296]

The single judge bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna observed that the allegations of re-labelling expired food products and pushing them back into the market constitute a 'calculated assault on public health', and cannot be viewed as a mere regulatory infraction.

“…The re-labelling of expired food products and their re-entry into the stream of commerce is not a mere infraction of food-safety regulation; it is a calculated assault on public health. An expiry date is not an ornamental inscription on a package, capable of being erased and replaced at the whim of a trader. It marks the outer boundary beyond which the safety and quality of the product for human use can no longer be assured. Once that boundary is crossed, deterioration, microbial contamination, chemical alteration and loss of nutritional integrity may set in, sometimes silently and without any visible warning. …To erase an expiry date, affix a fresh label and place such a product back on the shelf is, therefore, to dress decay in the garb of freshness and deception in the attire of trade.”

The court, while dismissing the criminal petition, held that the investigation into the allegations cannot be interdicted on the ground that the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSS Act) is a complete code in itself.

For context, the petitioners had argued before the High Court that that the FSS Act is a complete code in itself and provides a comprehensive mechanism for inspection, sampling, analysis, and prosecution. They contended that the jurisdictional police shouldn't be bypassing the procedure stipulated under Sections 41, 42, and 47 of the Act by registering a crime under the BNS.

“…the Police cannot fold their hands, turn a Nelson's eye to the allegations and proclaim helplessness merely because a special enactment occupies the field…. But the completeness of the special enactment cannot become a cloak of immunity against investigation into distinct offences alleged under the general penal law. The two must operate in their respective spheres and, where the allegations overlap, in statutory harmony rather than mutual exclusion...”, the court said.

The Court emphasized that food is not an ordinary article of commerce. 

“…What reaches the market ultimately reaches the human body. A deceptive label upon an expired food product, therefore, is not merely ink upon a package; it is, if the allegation be true, a deception capable of carrying consequences to the health and safety of an unsuspecting citizen….”, the court stated in the order.

 The Court also expressed concern about the 'mushrooming instances of hotels and eateries stocking and supplying expired food'. 

“…. Recent enforcement actions have disclosed alleged rackets employing precisely such methods to push expired products back into the stream of commerce. Such conduct, if established, is not merely neglect; it is deception dressed as commerce…”, the court added.

Moving further, the court noted that the allegations levelled against the Company strike at the very heart of consumer confidence and public health.

“…A customer who walks into a hotel and pays for a meal does so with an implicit faith that what reaches his plate is wholesome, hygienic and fit for human consumption. He cannot be expected to enter the kitchen, inspect the refrigerator, scrutinise every packet for its expiry date or investigate the provenance of every ingredient before taking a morsel. That trust is the very foundation upon which the food industry rests…. It is a sin; the food, which sustains life, is imperilled by the act of such sinner”, the court notes in the order.

The petitioners, Earth Recycler Pvt. Ltd. and its directors, claimed to be engaged in the business of collection and disposal of expired food products, damaged consumer goods, and other waste materials. According to the petition, the company held a license from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for this purpose.

A complaint was lodged by a person alleging that the company was collecting expired food products from various retail outlets, including Flipkart India Pvt. Ltd. and Shreyas Retail Pvt. Ltd. The complaint alleged that instead of recycling it, those products were-labelling, re-packed and resold to the public.

The complaint specifically mentioned items such as milk, curd, fruits, vegetables, eggs, wheat flour, cool drinks, ready-mix products.dishwash bars, and shampoo etc. being processed in such a manner.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at Avalahalli Police Station for offences punishable under Sections 23, 24, and 59 of the FSS Act and Sections 316(2), 318(4) read with Section 3(5) of the BNS.

The petitioners, relying on Sushil Kumar Gupta v. State of West Bengal [2024], contended that the police cannot interfere or conduct parallel investigations into matters covered by the Act.

The State Public Prosecutor argued that the allegations were not merely about regulatory infractions but involved expired products being given a fresh lease of commercial life through re-labelling, which were subsequently pushed back into the market. The state also pointed out the inventory given in the spot mahazar, indicating a plethora of expired food products.

The Court, after hearing both parties, noted that the police, while proceeding with the investigation, shall necessarily associate the competent officers of the Food Safety Department, wherever the provisions of the Act demand their involvement. Any prosecution ultimately launched shall conform scrupulously to the procedure prescribed by law, the court said further.

In the order, the Court observed that the petitioners' business, as claimed by them, involves procurement of products, which have already expired, for the purpose of recycling and disposal.

 “…The factum of expiry of those products is, therefore, not the mystery that sampling is required to unravel. The gravamen of the accusation lies elsewhere: that products procured because they had expired and were meant to travel towards recycling were allegedly diverted, re-labelled and sent travelling in the opposite direction-back to the market and ultimately to the consumer….”, the court underscored.

The Court concluded that it cannot permit procedural technicalities to become a sanctuary for allegations that directly implicate public health, while permitting further investigation.

The court also elaborated upon how the alleged acts could fall within the ambit of deception, in line with the provisions invoked by the police, even if the allegations do not point towards a conventional 'one to one transaction'.

“…. An article allegedly re-labelled and released into the open market, carries the representation to every potential consumer who encounters it. The victim may not be known to the alleged deceiver by name; he may nevertheless be the very person whom the deception is designed to induce. The anonymity of the consumer cannot, by itself, confer anonymity upon the alleged crime…”, the court remarked.

Accordingly, the criminal petition filed by the Company and its Directors were dismissed.

Case Title: Earth Recycler Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. v. State of Karnataka & Anr.

Case No: Criminal Petition No.9114/2026

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Kar)296

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