MUMBAI: On Tuesday, the Bombay high court adjourned Nestle India's challenge to ban on Maggi noodles for hearing and final disposal to July 17.
The court had earlier fixed July 20 as the next date but changed it to July 17 as Maharashtra state's new special counsel Darius Khambata would be available too that day. The court continued its interim orders of no stay on the ban and the 72-hour notice before taking any coercive steps.
The company had hit back at FSSAI for its June 5 ban on the popular 2-minute Maggi noodles by stating that the laboratories where noodle samples tested positive for excessive Lead content, "lacked accreditation, and are thus inconsistent and unreliable.'' It also questioned the grounds of "emergency'' for a pan-India ban.
On Tuesday, it was pointed out in court before a bench headed by Justice V M Kanade that the FSSAI CEO had moved for recall of the HC's order permitting export and export activities by Nestle for its noodles. Mahmood Pracha counsel for FSSAI CEO said that the recall plea is because he was not heard before the order was passed. He said that at the last hearing he had only said that the existing stock of Maggi noodles which Nestle said it was destroying by incineration could be exported and not newly produced ones. He said since the existing stock was unfit and no one would buy it anyway. Senior counsel Iqbal Chagla who appeared for Nestle said he did "not understand'' where this came from. "On the one hand he is saying the stock is unfit and on the other he is saying export it.'' He denied that even the existing stock was bad and said tests conducted in India and abroad proved that they were safe.
Pracha said that the company was using the HC export permission order to claim its product is safe on its website. Chagla said it was doing "no such thing''. But Pracha read from a website that said. "Is maggi safe'' followed by "The HC as permitted export''. Pracha said this only shows their "culpability'' and how they were producing new product for export even when there was a show cause notice on product approval. He said it is a proprietary product under the law which requires prior government approval for production and sale in India.
Khambata also took Nestle on and said that "its bad enough they are laying down the law..they cannot brandish reports from around the world to show that tests prove Maggi is safe when they have to rely on tests done in India.'' Chagla attacked FSSAI's tests as he said they were done in labs which are not notified.
The bench asked Nestle to file a "short affidavit in reply'' and posted the matter to Friday for further detailed hearing.
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