A division bench of Justices SV Gangapurwala and SG Dige also directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to send fresh samples of the baby powder from the Mulund facility to three laboratories for testing.
The Court was hearing a petition filed by Johnson & Johnson through Nishith Desai & Associates challenging the cancellation of cosmetic manufacturing license of its baby powder facility in Maharashtra.
The petition pointed out that the Joint Commissioner & Licensing Authority, FDA, Maharashtra issued an order on September 15 cancelling the company’s license, effective from December 15, 2022.
Five days later, the commissioner reviewed the order and directed the company to stop manufacture and sale of the baby powder manufactured at a facility in Mulund, Maharashtra with immediate effect.
During the hearing today, the Bench permitted Johnson to manufacture the baby powder at its own risk.
The Bench also affirmed the order of the FDA that no sale of the product or handing it over to the distributor for sale would be permitted.
Source: Barandbench
