Bombay HC Questions State Govt For Delayed Action Against Johnson And Johnson For Its Alleged Low Quality Of Baby Powder

The Division Bench comprising Justice GS Patel and Justice SG Dige on Tuesday questioned the State government for not taking action against Johnson and Johnson for the sale of baby powder for the alleged low quality of the powder.

The division bench asked the government pleader to explain why was there a delay of two years in taking action against the company. The Government Pleader Milind More said that due to COVID the government could not take action.

The bench replied to More,

"If you are dealing with infant health care, we expect you to take action within 48 hours, not 2 years. Did the world shut down during COVID? Did the Maharashtra government cease to exist from Nov 2019 till Sept 2022? You are champions of public health. Assuming that the product is a dangerous, third-grade product, this is how you approach it? This is your sense of urgency?"

The division bench was hearing a writ petition filed by the company against the order of the FDA canceling the license of the company effective from December 15. Advocate Ravi Kadam for the company informed the court that the two lab reports have cleared the samples submitted by the company.

Justice GS Patel, after referring to the cancellation order and the rules under which the order was passed said that the rules have been declared defunct by the Central Government in 2021. He said that on those grounds itself the cancellation order could be set aside.

Government Pleader More sought time for taking instructions for the same.

During the previous hearings, the court had directed re-testing of the samples to be conducted by the two government labs and one private lab. The government labs cleared the samples of the company. However, the private lab report said the reading was not stable.

The High Court during the earlier hearings had allowed the company to manufacture the baby powder but had denied the sale of the baby powder.

Case Title: Johnson and Johnson Pvt. Ltd. vs State of Maharashtra & Ors