The Bombay High Court at Nagpur has quashed a criminal case filed against Nestle India Limited and its office-bearers concerning the quality of Maggi Instant Noodles, as per a Bar & Bench report.
The case, initiated over concerns that the product failed to meet food safety standards, has been dismissed due to an invalid laboratory report.
The case was originally lodged following an inspection at Nestle India’s Logistic Hub in Nagpur on April 30, 2015, during which samples of “Maggi Instant Noodles with Tastemaker” and “Baby and Me” nutritional supplements were taken.
A report from the State public health laboratory in Pune confirmed that the Maggi noodles met the required standards. However, a reanalysis report from this laboratory suggested that the noodles did not meet the prescribed standards, leading to the criminal complaint filed in April 2016.
In its judgment delivered on January 7, Justice Urmila Joshi Phalke ruled that the case, filed under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, was based on a laboratory report that could not be considered valid.
The court pointed out that the Referral Food Laboratory in Ghaziabad was not accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), as required by Section 43(1) of the FSS Act.
Justice Phalke explained that the report from the Ghaziabad laboratory, which was central to the prosecution’s case, could not be considered as it did not meet the legal criteria. The court further noted that the initial analysis conducted in Pune had already confirmed that the Maggi noodles conformed to the prescribed standards, and there was no justification for dismissing this report.
As a result, the court quashed the criminal case against Nestle, exercising its powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and stated that the prosecution could not proceed based on an invalid foundation.