Delhi HC closes criminal cases linked to 2015 Maggi controversy
The Delhi High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against Nestlé India officials regarding the 2015 Maggi controversy. The court ruled that continuing the case was an abuse of law, as subsequent scientific testing confirmed lead levels were within permissible limits.
Why it matters
This decision provides legal closure to a major food safety scandal that significantly impacted consumer trust and corporate operations in India.
More than a decade after the controversy over alleged excessive lead content in Maggi, the Delhi High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against Nestlé India officials and distributors, noting that subsequent scientific testing found the product’s lead content to be within the permissible limit.
Justice Madhu Jain, in a judgment pronounced on Thursday, said continuing the prosecutions would amount to an abuse of the process of law as the very scientific foundation of the cases had substantially eroded following fresh tests conducted by the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) under the Supreme Court’s supervision.
The court consequently quashed the criminal complaints, the summoning orders issued in 2015 and 2016, and all consequential proceedings against the retailers and other persons in the supply chain of Nestle.
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