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Orders Amazon Retail India to Hand Over Expired Warehouse Goods to FDA
The on Monday recorded a under which Amazon Retail India Private Limited will prepare a comprehensive inventory of expired food products sitting inside its effectively sealed Bhiwandi warehouse and hand them over to the for scientific disposal. The bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad was hearing the company's challenging the suspension and subsequent cancellation of the facility's food business licence.
A Licence Under Fire
The dispute traces back to , when FDA officials inspected Amazon's warehouse in Bhiwandi, Thane district. The regulator alleged that expired food products meant for destruction were being routed back into the retail market. The very next day, the FDA suspended the warehouse's licence — a move Amazon contends was taken without first issuing an as required under the .
While Amazon's appeal was pending before the appellate authority, the FDA issued a on and later proceeded to cancel the licence entirely, prompting the company to move the High Court.
Negotiating a Working Arrangement
During the hearing, senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond for the petitioners and for the State arrived at a mutually agreeable arrangement. Under this interim framework, Amazon will, within three days , prepare a detailed inventory of all expired and perished goods on the warehouse shelves. That inventory must be handed over to the concerned FDA officer (Respondent No. 4), who will verify the items before taking them into custody.
"The said inventory would be prepared within three days from today. The said inventory would be handed over to Respondent No. 4, who would acknowledge it's receipt after verifying the expired goods that are being placed in his custody,"
the court recorded.
The FDA has been directed to follow its own
Advisory dated
, alongside earlier directives from
, which collectively prescribe the procedure for disposal of perishable, seized, and rejected items. The regulator must also prepare detailed documentation recording receipt of the goods and their destruction —
"just to complete the records,"
as the court put it.
A Sharp Rebuke
The follows pointed observations made by the High Court at an earlier hearing, where the bench remarked that the FDA appeared to be
"trying to kill a mosquito with a sword"
— suggesting that while enforcement is necessary, measures ought to be proportionate and systematically executed.
The FDA, now under the leadership of IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe since May, has been conducting aggressive inspection and enforcement drives across food businesses in Maharashtra, with warehouses, retailers, and prominent eateries all coming under scrutiny in recent months.
Road Ahead
The High Court issued notice to the respondents, returnable on , and directed the State to file its by . The cost of the disposal exercise will be borne by Amazon. The will remain operational until the petition is heard on its merits, with the court reserving the right to pass further orders.
