Bombay High Court gives Johnson & Johnson go ahead to manufacture and sell baby power products

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 12, 2023

Personal care brand Johnson & Johnson has been permitted to manufacture and sell its baby powder products again as the Bombay High Court undid three orders by the Maharashtra government which had banned these activities on January 11. 

“The executive cannot use a hammer to kill an ant,” said the Bombay High Court in its order on Wednesday, the Press Trust of India reported. “Is it always inevitable that when there is a single case of deviation or non-compliance (to prescribed norms) by a product, the only option left with the regulatory authority is to cancel or revoke the license of the manufacturing company? This seems to us an extreme approach.” 
 
Johnson & Johnson had been banned from manufacturing and retailing its baby power in Maharashtra following an investigation into the safety of the product. The business maintained that its products are completely safe to use. 

“There seems to be an unfairness and unreasonableness in the executive action,” said the High Court. “There is also nothing to show that the FDA has adopted such a stringent approach for any other product of the petitioner company or any other company.” 
 
The court hearing was led by a division bench of justices Gautam Patel and S G Dige who criticised the state’s Food and Drug Administration for delaying its tests to ascertain the safety of Johnson & Johnson products. According to the court order on Wednesday, all recent tests of Johnson & Johnson products showed that they were safe to use.