In the much anticipated hearing over the Maggi ban controversy, the NCDRC today issued notice to Nestle and sought its reply within a month’s time..The Commission was hearing a complaint filed by the Department of Consumer Affairs under Section 12 (1) (d) of the Consumer Protection Act. The said provision allows the Central or the State Government to represent the interests of the consumers in general; either in its individual capacity or as a representative of consumer interests..A Bench headed by Justice VK Jain also allowed the Complainant to submit ‘sealed samples’ of Maggi Oats Noodles and Maggi Masala Noodles available with the FSSAI to accredited laboratories, for the purpose of testing and analysis..During the course of hearing, ASG Sanjay Jain, who appeared for the Union, was grilled by the Bench primarily over the issue of lead content in the noodles. Justice Jain questioned the Govt as to what the prescribed limit for lead in the noodles was, and if such limit was not prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, then what regulation of the FSS Act would apply in such a situation..The Bench was also critical of the manner in which samples were tested by the FSSAI and relying on the Bombay HC order (that lifted the ban) it said,.“From the order of the High Court, we can infer that the Rules & Regulations (of the FSS Act) were not followed while carrying out the sampling process. Did you follow any procedure? The Bombay HC has left the onus on you to prove that you adhered to all norms. You can still satisfy us here.”.Furthermore, the Bench commented about the maintainability of the complaint. It said that if the complaint itself was necessitated on the basis of lab reports which were rejected by the Bombay HC’s order, then the Govt. could consider waiting for the fresh test results (as ordered by the High Court) before proceeding with the present cause of action..Responding to this, ASG Jain replied that “only some prayers” of the complaint would be affected by the High Court’s order and that the Commission could issue notice to Nestle over other prayers in the complaint..The matter will now come up for hearing before the Commission on September 30.
In the much anticipated hearing over the Maggi ban controversy, the NCDRC today issued notice to Nestle and sought its reply within a month’s time..The Commission was hearing a complaint filed by the Department of Consumer Affairs under Section 12 (1) (d) of the Consumer Protection Act. The said provision allows the Central or the State Government to represent the interests of the consumers in general; either in its individual capacity or as a representative of consumer interests..A Bench headed by Justice VK Jain also allowed the Complainant to submit ‘sealed samples’ of Maggi Oats Noodles and Maggi Masala Noodles available with the FSSAI to accredited laboratories, for the purpose of testing and analysis..During the course of hearing, ASG Sanjay Jain, who appeared for the Union, was grilled by the Bench primarily over the issue of lead content in the noodles. Justice Jain questioned the Govt as to what the prescribed limit for lead in the noodles was, and if such limit was not prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, then what regulation of the FSS Act would apply in such a situation..The Bench was also critical of the manner in which samples were tested by the FSSAI and relying on the Bombay HC order (that lifted the ban) it said,.“From the order of the High Court, we can infer that the Rules & Regulations (of the FSS Act) were not followed while carrying out the sampling process. Did you follow any procedure? The Bombay HC has left the onus on you to prove that you adhered to all norms. You can still satisfy us here.”.Furthermore, the Bench commented about the maintainability of the complaint. It said that if the complaint itself was necessitated on the basis of lab reports which were rejected by the Bombay HC’s order, then the Govt. could consider waiting for the fresh test results (as ordered by the High Court) before proceeding with the present cause of action..Responding to this, ASG Jain replied that “only some prayers” of the complaint would be affected by the High Court’s order and that the Commission could issue notice to Nestle over other prayers in the complaint..The matter will now come up for hearing before the Commission on September 30.
