{
  "id": 16318055,
  "title": "‘Usurped our powers’: Now, Tukaram Mundhe takes Centre’s food regulator to court",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/usurped-our-powers-now-tukaram-mundhe-takes-centres-food-regulator-to",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-24T11:24:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/legal-news/tukaram-mundhe-maharashtra-bombay-high-court-fssai-parallel-enforcement-powers-dispute-10935215/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Maharashtra government, led by Food Safety Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, has taken the Central Health Ministry and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to court at the Bombay High Court. The claim is that FSSAI has unjustly established a parallel enforcement system, infringing upon state powers. The Central Government’s Judge Mahesh Chandra Tripathi has delayed the hearing until November 26. The petition argues that the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 was meant to decentralize food administration, but FSSAI has created a \"parallel enforcement structure\" instead. The order issued by FSSAI CEO on May 12, 2023, allegedly restricts state officers from enforcing the Act and rules for food businesses with a Central License. Furthermore, the revision of turnover threshold for registration in March 2024 without public feedback was deemed a violation of Section 23 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. The state also challenges the mandatory online Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), stating it attempts to bring all food businesses under the Central Licensing Authority's purview, removing them from local inspection. Mundhe is seeking a court order to nullify the relevant provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulation, 2011, the 2018 Recruitment Regulations, and the 2026 Amendment Regulations. The state is also requesting an interim stay on the May 2023 order and directions for FSSAI to return all FoSCoS database records to state authorities.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}