Food Safety Tribunal sets aside Fine on Anantnag Trader, Flags Faulty Procedure
Mudasir Yaqoob
Srinagar, Dec 17:
The Food Safety Appellate Tribunal, Kashmir, has set aside an order wherein a penalty was imposed on an Anantnag-based trader in a food labelling case, saying the authorities failed to follow proper legal procedure and denied the accused a fair hearing.
The case relates to Gulzar Ahmad Tantray, proprietor of M/s Kashmir Enterprises, and M/s ACR Foods Pvt Ltd, Jammu. In August 2021, the Food Safety Adjudicating Officer in Anantnag had imposed fines of Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000 on them, alleging that an ice-candy product was “misbranded” because its label mentioned “ice-cream”.
The matter reached the Appellate Tribunal after the traders challenged the order, arguing that they were neither properly heard nor given a chance to explain their position. They were represented by Advocate Mir Naveed Gul.
The Tribunal observed that although the food sample was found safe and met quality standards, the authorities treated the labelling issue as a serious offence without following the law. The Tribunal said that for minor labelling mistakes, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) itself advises officials to first issue an “improvement notice” instead of directly imposing penalties.
The Tribunal observed that there are serious flaws in the way the case was handled. It pointed out that notices were defective, dates mentioned in official records did not match, and the accused were not given adequate opportunity to submit their replies or defend themselves.
The Tribunal also said there was no proof on record to show that the traders had admitted any wrongdoing, even though the adjudicating officer claimed so.
“The case was dealt with in a hurried and casual manner,” the Tribunal said, adding that penalties cannot be imposed unless the offence is clearly proved and the accused is heard properly.
Terming the original order “unsustainable in the eyes of law”, the Tribunal set aside the penalty order.
