There’s more. Another case involving milk adulteration has remained unresolved for 28 years.
Such cases should have been settled with a fine or penalty in just a few hearings. But they continue to be delayed for decades, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of the legal framework in addressing food adulteration.
An official from the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (FSDA), speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “The inability to quickly and decisively punish those involved in adulteration not only undermines public trust in the system but also allows perpetrators to continue their harmful practices. There is a critical need for reform in the regulatory processes.”
A milk vendor of Bakshi Ka Talab, who is contesting a case against FSDA, said, “Milk sold by me was found to have less fat content, but how can I know that the milk produced by buffalo is having less fat?
“Ideally, my case would have been solved but it’s lingering on due to a slow process for the last 25 years. Without timely action, the cycle of delays will continue,” he said.
As of now, approximately 600 cases lodged before 2012 under the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act are pending for decision. After 2012, around 395 cases are awaiting decisions under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006 in the ACJM court. Additionally, 1,500 cases are pending in the ADM court under the FSSA Act 2006.
According to assistant commissioner of FSDA VP Singh, “Despite the best efforts of the department to press for punishment of adulterators, cases remain undecided. We can only raid the adulterators, collect samples, send them to laboratories and file cases. But after that, we can only follow up in court.”
This delay further empowers the perpetrators of food adulteration as they continue to evade the consequences of their actions. The FSDA labs take also two to three months to test a sample. After this, the adulterator has the right to challenge the test and get the sample tested in a different lab, further contributing to delays.
From March 2024 to February 28, 2025, FSDA surveyed 6,736 establishments, raided 1,077 premises in Lucknow and collected 1,349 samples. While reports for 1,202 samples have been received, the results for the remaining samples are still awaited. Of the samples tested, 299 were found to be adulterated, two had false labelling, and 34 were deemed unsafe. As many as 549 cases were settled by the court, with fines totaling ₹2.40 crore imposed on the adulterators. However, none of the perpetrators were imprisoned.
