Writ Petition No. 1656 of 2024 · Bombay High Court

thereunder and as also stated in the report dated 6 April, 2024 by Geo-ChemLaboratories Pvt. Ltd. conforms to provisions of FSS Act, Rules and Regulations, 2011and that Food Safety and Standards Authority has no objection for the clearance of the goods in question.

After such affidavit dated 15 April, 2024 of the FSSAI was placed on record, today the affidavit of Smt. Shweta Suman is being filed referring to areport dated 20 February, 2024 of one NABL accredited Food testingLaboratory, which is a report prepared almost two months back by a laboratory notified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority, which has taken acontrary view from what has been taken by the FSSAI inter alia stating that the Areca nuts are not fully roasted and more particularly, in the final remarks asset out at page 21 of the reply affidavit. We may also observe that it is quite surprising that for last two months there was not a whisper of such report and the officer had not made any attempt to either place the said report on recordor furnish the same to the petitioner and for the first time it is set out in the affidavit tendered to us today such report is being relied.

In these circumstances, it prima facie appears to us that once the highest authority, i.e. Food Safety and Standards Authority has no objection, whether such no objection issued by such authority can be discarded. Page 2 of 317 April, 2024

907.WP1656_2024.DOC4.Mr. Pathak, learned counsel for the petitioner intends to take instructions on the affidavit of Smt. Shweta Suman, Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch (Import).5.We shall hear the parties on this petition on the adjourned date of hearing. List the petition on 23 April, 2024 (H.O.B.). ( FIRDOSH P. POONIWALLA, J.)(G. S. KULKARNI , J.) Page 3 of 317 April, 2024