The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has quashed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) orders that stopped all activities at Wardha’s famous Goras Bhandar, holding that the Food Safety Officer had no legal authority to shut down the dairy unit. A division bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Raj Wakode allowed the writ petition filed by the Wardha Tehsil Cow-Milk Producers’ Co-operative Society Ltd., which runs Goras Bhandar. The court set aside the May 31, 2026, order issued by the Food Safety Officer directing the co-operative to stop all its activities. It ruled that the officer had acted without any authority or power under the law.

 

The High Court also quashed the June 1, 2026, order passed by the Designated Officer and Assistant Commissioner (Food), Wardha. The bench held that the order did not meet the legal requirements under Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. However, the court clarified that the authorities are free to issue an improvement notice to the co-operative or pass a prohibitory order only in respect of buttermilk, if required, after considering the deficiencies noticed during the inspection conducted on May 31. The FDA had sealed Goras Bhandar and stopped milk collection, sale and production of dairy products after alleging unhygienic conditions. The action followed directions issued by FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe.

 

The co-operative society challenged the action, arguing that it was taken without issuing any prior notice or giving it an opportunity to explain its case. During the hearing, the High Court had sought details of inspections conducted at Goras Bhandar over the past several decades. The FDA informed the court that the dairy had been inspected only four times in the last 65 years. Goras Bhandar, established in 1931 by Mahatma Gandhi, Acharya Vinoba Bhave and Jamnalal Bajaj, collects and distributes around 9,000 litres of milk daily and supports livelihood of nearly 800 families from 15 villages in Wardha district. Advocates Firdos Mirza, Shantanu Bhoyar and Rozat Akolawala represented the petitioner, while AGP S N Rao appeared for the State.