A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday held that the catering service providers need to obtain licence or permission from the authorities concerned under the Food Safety and Standard Act.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice A.M. Shaffique made the observation while hearing a petition seeking a directive to make the Act applicable to the caterers as well.
Petitioner Saiju of Kalady said most of the caterers in the State were doing business without valid licences and the court should prohibit the functioning of such caterers.
Food Safety Commissioner Biju Prabhakar informed the court that necessary steps had already been taken to insist for licences as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The State also submitted that a circular was issued asking all the hotels and restaurants to take licence by the end of February 2014 for conducting business. The court asked the State government to issue a similar circular in respect of caterers.
The petitioner contended that though the caterers came within the ambit of the Act, the authorities had not taken any steps to legalise the functioning of caterers.
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