The Bombay High Court quashed a criminal case against Nestle India concerning Maggi noodles’ quality, citing an invalid lab report. The court found that the Referral Food Laboratory lacked NABL accreditation and recognition under the Food Safety and Standards Act. This ruling favored Nestle, marking a significant legal victory amid conflicting safety reports.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court at Nagpur recently quashed a criminal case against Nestle India Limited and its office-bearers regarding concerns over the quality of Maggi Instant Noodles. The case, filed under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, was dismissed as it was based on an invalid laboratory report.
In a judgment delivered on January 7, Justice Urmila Joshi Phalke ruled that the Referral Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad—which had tested the Maggi samples—was not accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and was not recognized by the Food Authority under Section 43(1) of the FSS Act.
“It is clear that Section 43(1) mandates that the Food Analyst has to analyze the food in a laboratory accredited by NABL and also recognized by the Food Authority and notified by it. The Referral Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh is not one of the laboratories accredited by NABL, and therefore, it cannot be said to be the laboratory recognized by the Food Authority,”
the Court said.
The case stemmed from a 2016 complaint by Food Safety Officer Kiran Rangaswamy Gedam. On April 30, 2015, samples of “Maggi Instant Noodles with Tastemaker” and “Baby and Me” nutritional supplement were collected from Nestle India’s Nagpur Logistic Hub.
A State Public Health Laboratory in Pune initially declared the Maggi noodles safe and compliant with standards. However, dissatisfied with the results, the officer sent the samples to the Referral Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad, which later reported non-compliance with food safety standards. This conflicting report led to a criminal case being filed against Nestle.
Senior advocate SV Manohar, appearing for Nestle, argued that the Ghaziabad lab was not NABL-accredited or recognized under Section 43(1) of the FSS Act. He contended that any report from an unrecognized laboratory cannot be relied upon for prosecution.
Justice Phalke upheld this argument, stating that
“a laboratory has to pass a twin test before it can be considered a recognized laboratory—(i) it must be accredited by NABL and (ii) it must be recognized by the Food Authority under Section 43 of the Act.”
Since the Pune laboratory had already cleared Maggi as safe, the Court found no reason to rely on the contradictory Ghaziabad report and quashed the case under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Legal Representation
- Senior advocate SV Manohar and advocate Rohan Deo represented Nestle India.
- Additional Public Prosecutor Swati Kolhe appeared for the State.
With this ruling, Nestle India is relieved from legal proceedings over Maggi quality concerns, marking a significant legal victory for the company.
Case Title – ShyamkumarTulsilal Warnawal and Ors v State of Maharashtra
Read the Judgement here:
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