NCDRC dismisses govt petition seeking damages from Nestle in Maggi case

The apex consumer forum body NCDRC has dismissed the petition filed by the government seeking damages of Rs 640 crore from FMCG major Nestle over the Maggi fiasco dating back to 2015.

The government had in 2015 alleged before the NCDRC that Nestle was indulging in unfair trade practices by manufacturing and selling hazardous and defective Maggi noodles to the public.

The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) dismissed the two petitions filed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, seeking compensation of Rs 284.55 crore and punitive damages of Rs 355.41 crore.

The government had moved NCDRC after Nestle's popular instant noodles Maggi was banned by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in June 2015 for allegedly containing lead beyond permissible limits, forcing the company to withdraw the product from the market.

"Complaint filed by the Union of India, Department of Consumer Affairs in 2015 before NCDRC on the allegation that by selling MAGGI Noodles in the past... Was dismissed by NCDRC in favour of the Company vide NCDRC's Order dated 2nd April 2024," Nestle India in regulatory filings said.

It was for the first time that the government had taken action under Section 12-1-D of the Consumer Protection Act, under which both the Centre and states have powers to file complaints.

In this matter on January 13, 2016, the Supreme Court had stayed the proceedings at NCDRC and had directed the NABL-accredited CFTRI to clarify if the results of sample tests on Maggi Noodles show lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG) levels to be within the permissible limits.

The results were forwarded to the Supreme Court on April 11, 2016, stating that 29 tested samples showed lead levels within permissible limits.

On January 3, 2019 the Supreme Court revived the government case in NCDRC saying the report of CFTRI, where the samples of Maggi noodles were tested following earlier orders of the court, will form the basis for the proceedings before the NCDRC.

The food safety regulator FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles after it found excess level of lead in samples, terming it as "unsafe and hazardous" for human consumption. FSSAI had also said Nestle violated labelling regulations on taste enhancer 'MSG' and ordered the company to submit a compliance report on its orders. However, it returned to market five months later after a relaunch in November 2015.