India, Aug. 18 -- The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to pay Rs.5 lakh to a sweet shop for keeping its food licence suspended even though the shop was declared 98% hygiene compliant during a re-inspection. The court said the continuation of the license suspension amounted to "torture and harassment".

"This is harassment. They're losing on business. Who will compensate for the loss," a division bench of acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad asked the FDA officials. "You want us to believe that there's no malice on your mind," the judges wondered. The court was hearing a petition filed by Gurunanak Dairy and Sweets in Pune, which had challenged the FDA's suspen...