Maharashtra challenges FSSAI regulations in the Bombay High Court, alleging that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has built a parallel central enforcement regime that takes over powers the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 gives to the State.
Mumbai: The State of Maharashtra has approached the Bombay High Court challenging the constitutional validity of several central food safety regulations and orders, alleging that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has unconstitutionally set up a parallel enforcement regime that usurps the State’s powers [State of Maharashtra v. Union of India and Others].
The petition, filed through the State Commissioner of Food Safety, is to be heard by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Mahesh C. Tripathi and Justice Advait M. Sethna on November 26. The contentions below are those of the State, and the stand of the Centre and the FSSAI is not yet on record.
The legal position
The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA) makes the Food Authority and the State Food Safety Authorities responsible for enforcing the Act. The State says the statute is built to decentralise food regulation, with licensing and enforcement powers lying with State Commissioners of Food Safety and their designated officers, and contends that the Centre and the FSSAI have steadily dismantled that arrangement.
The regulations under challenge are the 2011 Licensing Regulations, the 2018 Recruitment Regulations and the 2026 Amendment Regulations.
How the dispute escalated
According to the petition, the dispute between the State and the FSSAI sharpened after a direction of May 12, 2023, which barred State food safety officers from inspecting businesses that hold a central licence. That order, issued to consolidate and clarify enforcement of the Act and its regulations for food businesses with central licences, is among the measures the State wants stayed.
The State alleges that the online Food Safety Compliance System portal (FoSCoS) was deployed to bring food businesses systematically under central jurisdiction. It also challenges notifications dated March 10 and March 13 that revised the turnover thresholds for food business licensing, claiming they were enacted without prior notice inviting public objections, in violation of Section 23 of the General Clauses Act.
Central posts and the CEO’s powers
The plea alleges that the FSSAI’s Chief Executive Officer exercised powers unlawfully by creating posts such as “Central Food Safety Officer” and “Central Licensing Authority”. The State argues that these roles are foreign to the statutory framework and that the CEO’s enforcement role is limited to imported food articles, not domestic enforcement on the ground.
The reliefs sought
The State has asked the High Court to quash the regulations it calls unconstitutional, to stay the May 2023 order restricting State officers from inspecting centrally licensed units, and to direct the FSSAI to transfer all licensing databases back to the respective State-designated officers.
No interim order has been reported, and the Court has not yet examined the merits. The matter returns on November 26.
Case Title: State of Maharashtra v. Union of India and Others
Bench: Chief Justice Mahesh C. Tripathi and Justice Advait M. Sethna, Bombay High Court
Next Hearing: November 26, 2026
Appearances: Not reported