Bombay HC revokes FSSAI order banning Maggi noodles, Nestle shares up 3%

The Bombay High Court has ruled in favour of Nestle India in the Maggi ban case, setting aside Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI ) order banning the popular snack.

The court on Thursday said maggi samples will have to be tested in Jaipur, Hyderabad and Mohali laboratories accredited with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) before being manufactured for sale. The Court ordered Nestle to send five samples of each batch to the three food-testing laboratories.

The testing will have to be completed within six weeks, the court added.

Cheering the developments, shares of Nestle India jumped 2.78 per cent to close at Rs 6356.70 on Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The high court has also sought details from FSSAI, asking it to justify its recommendation to ban maggi noodles despite not testing samples in accredited laboratories.

Though the court has quashed the orders of the Indian food regulators banning the nine variants of the noodles, it will take some more time for Maggi to hit the market.

Reacting to the court order, FSSAI said it was keeping its options open on whether to challenge the Bombay High Court order in the Supreme Court. The regulator said that an appeal before the Supreme Court is neither ruled in, nor ruled out as yet.

In a statement, Nestle India welcomed the High Court order and said it will undertake fresh tests. "Nestle India respects the decision made on August 13 by the Honourable Bombay High Court to revoke the ban order passed by the FSSAI and FDA, Maharashtra, on Maggi noodles and will comply with the order to undertake fresh tests," the company said. Food and Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the High Court decision had come after hearing both sides.

"I welcome the decision that they have taken because I am sure it is what is good for the nation and good for the people. I have always maintained that there needs to be totally transparent and clear-cut protocol which the industry should know it has to follow," she said.

Samples for the fresh testing would be taken out of the 750 samples preserved by the company following the ban. A huge stock of Maggi noodles was destroyed by Nestle after the ban was imposed by the food regulators. "If the lead content is found below permissible limits by the three labs, Nestle, the Indian arm of Swiss company, will be allowed to manufacture Maggi noodles," Justices V M Kanade and B P Colabawala said.

Meahwhile, the government has filed a class action suit against Nestle India claiming damages that could exceed Rs 640 crore for selling defective and hazardous Maggi noodles in the country. The Consumer Affairs Ministry under an hitherto unused provision of the three-decade old Consumer Protection Act, has flied a 45-page complaint before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) to seek Rs 284.45 crore in basic damages and further Rs 355.50 crore in punitive damages, resulting in total damages of Rs 639.95 crore sought from the Swiss giant. The first hearing of the case is expected on August 14. 

The company has been suffering from from the worst-ever crisis after food safety inspectors in Uttar Pradesh state found excess lead in some Maggi noodle samples.