Bombay High Court upholds the Constitutionality of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 [Read the Judgment]

In a significant judgment rendered by the Bombay High Court on 16.09.2015, the constitutionality of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 has been upheld. Several merchant, traders, hoteliers and dealers in food items had moved the High Court under the collective of associations like ‘The Association of Traders carrying the various business of Food Items’ , ‘Mumbai Mewa Masala Merchants’ Association’, ‘AHAR-Indian Hotels and Restaurant Association’, impugning the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, as ultra vires the Constitution of India.The essence of the assail against the vires of the Act was that the provisions of the same were vague, abstract and unworkable and that unfetterd and unguided powers were conferred on the authorities under the act which were capable of being put to abuse. It was also urged that the Act suffers from the vice of excessive delegation, as the standards are extensively laid down by Rules and Regulations framed by the executive wing.At the very outset, the Court observed that the writ petitions were premature and anticipatory in nature, as none of the petitions had factual averments regarding any adverse evil or civil consequences resulting from the implementation of the Act. It was observed that “the challenge to the constitutional validity of the Act must be on the basis of certain and definite set of facts and not on apprehension. The challenge to the constitutionality of the Statute cannot be raised in abstract or vaccum” . Reliance was placed on the decision of the Supreme Court in Sant Lal Bharati vs. State of Punjab (1988) 1 SCC 366 for such proposition.Nonetheless, the Court proceeded to consider the contetions of the petitioner on their merits. Before doing the same, the legislative background of the Food Safety and Standards Act was examined. It was found that it was an ‘Act to consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish food standards’. The Act was a comprehensive code replacing the earlier legislations covering the field, viz, the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954,and the various orders relating to food products issued under the Essential Commodities Act 1955, which all stood repealed by virtue of Section 97 of the Act. It was found that the the act was a ‘welfare legislation aimed at preventing health hazard which would be caused by consuming adulterated food’ and that the provisions of the Act ought to be construed in the light of its welfare intent and beneficial purposes. Special reference was made to the Preamble of the Act and also to Section 18 thereof enumerating the general principles to be followed in the administration of act, for gathering the intent and object of the impugned statute. Sections 26 & 27, pertaining to the responsibility of food business operators and the lheir liability in case of default, were also adverted to for such purposes.Before considering the specific contentions of the petitioners, the Court made a reference to the observations of the Supreme Court in State of Uttar Pradesh vs. Kartar Singh AIR 1964 SC 1135 in the context of examining the constitutionality of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, the predecessor of the FSSA Act. It was observed therein that the the rule has to be struct down as imposing unreasonable or discriminatory standards, it could not be done merely on any a priori reasoning, but only as a result of materials placed before court by way of scientific analysis. It is obvious that this can be done only when the party invoking the protection of Article 14 makes averments with details to sustain such a plea and leads evidence to establish his allegations.Setting the tone as above, the contentions were put to juducial scrutiny. Section 31 of the Act was the licensing provision, enjoinig the stake holders of food business to obtain license and registration from the ‘designated authority’. As per Section 36, the said ‘designated authority’ should not be below the rank of a Sub Divisional Officer. The contention was that the Sub Divisional Officer was an authority under the Revenue Code, who lacks proficiency and understanding of the technicalities pertaining to food business, and empowering an officer unaquantied with the scientific and technical aspects of food business was arbitrary and unreasonable, leading to the infraction of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. However, the said contention was repelled holding that Section 36 merely specifies the rank of the designated authority and does not designate the Sub Divisional Officer as the authority. Moreover, Rule 2.1.2 of the Food Safety and Standards Rules framed by the Central Government specifies that the authority shall possess and bachelors degree in Science with Chemistry and ensures that such officers possess requisite knowledge and proficieny. Hence, the apprehensions were rejected as unfounded.The next contention was the Act contained several undefinied expressions of generic import, like ‘petty manufacturer’,...

Bombay High Court upholds the Constitutionality of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 [Read the Judgment]

Manu Sebastian

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