Maharashtra Suspends 4 FDA Officials Over Alleged Out-of-Jurisdiction Raids, Opens Inquiry Into 21 More

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has suspended four of its own officials over raids allegedly carried out beyond their legal jurisdiction in Pune and Bhiwandi.

The action came after the Chief Minister's approval and was issued through a government resolution. The department also opened departmental inquiries against 21 officials, with further action to follow the findings. The FDA described the move as one of the biggest disciplinary measures it has taken against its officials.

Who was suspended

The four suspended officials are:

• Digambar Bhogawade, Joint Commissioner (Food)
• Yaduraj Dahatonde, Assistant Commissioner (Food)
• Ashok Ilager, Food Safety Officer
• C. R. Swamy, Food Safety Officer

The 21 under inquiry come from the Thane and Pune divisions. In Thane, they include Joint Commissioner Shrikant Karkale, Assistant Commissioner P. P. Suryavanshi, Scientific Officer Santosh Ugle and several food safety officers. In Pune, they include assistant commissioners and a long list of food safety officers.

Several names, including Bhogawade, Dahatonde, Ilager and Swamy, appear both among the suspended and on the inquiry lists. The FDA has not said how that overlap breaks down.

What the raids were about

The department's announcement describes the underlying problem only as raids conducted outside authorised jurisdiction. Gujarat Samachar's account adds detail. It says an internal investigation led by FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe found flawed enforcement and jurisdictional breaches tied to prohibited tobacco products.

According to that account, Food and Drug Administration Minister Narhari Zirwal confirmed the suspensions. It says they stem from raids on two firms: Thane-based M/s High Street Impex LLP and M/s SOEX India Pvt Ltd, in Maval taluka of Pune district.

In the SOEX case, Gujarat Samachar reports that the FDA's flying squad raided premises in Takwe village and seized 5,48,488 kilograms of tobacco products valued at roughly INR 31.67 crore. That is a very large seizure from a single operation. The same account says the inquiries were opened under Rule 8 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1979, and points to improper classification of products as part of the problem.

Those specifics rest on one account. Neither firm's position has been published, and the FDA has not publicly said whether the seized goods were lawfully held or lawfully taken.

The jurisdiction question

An inspector who can seize more than 548 tonnes of product and seal a business holds serious power. Jurisdiction is how that power is kept in check. If an agency's officers act outside the territory or authority the law gives them, the people targeted have grounds to challenge the action, and the state has grounds to discipline the officers.

Here the state is doing the disciplining itself, which is the more unusual part. Agencies rarely suspend a joint commissioner and a handful of colleagues over procedure. Whether the suspensions reflect real misconduct or an internal power struggle is something the inquiry has yet to establish. Gujarat Samachar's account refers to "internal friction," but no named official has said so on the record.

The suspended officials are accused of procedural violations, not of any crime. No criminal charges against any of them have been announced, and the inquiry has not reached a finding. Suspension during a departmental inquiry is a standard step and not a determination of guilt. The four have not had a response published.

Enforcement continues

The inquiry has not frozen the department's wider work. On Wednesday, Oct. 28, FDA officials raided a sweet-making unit in Bajaj Nagar, Waluj, in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar under the "Safe Food Safe Maharashtra" drive. They suspended its licence and destroyed 63.5 kg of allegedly adulterated sweets valued at Rs 19,310, according to an FDA official who spoke to the Times of India. Joint Commissioner (Food) Shrikaant Karkale, whose name also appears on the Thane inquiry list, spoke publicly about that action. Samples have gone to a laboratory, and officials said a criminal case will follow after the report.

What comes next

The FDA says further action on the 21 will follow the inquiry's conclusion. No timeline has been announced, and the department has not said whether the findings will be made public. Also unresolved is the status of the goods and firms at the center of the raids, and whether the companies will pursue claims over how the operations were carried out.