Nestle moves Bombay High Court on Maggi ban, hearing on Friday

The Bombay High Court will hear on Friday a plea by the Indian arm of Swiss multinational Nestle's seeking a judicial review of the food safety regulator's order calling for the withdrawal of its top-selling Maggi instant noodles on health issues.

A division bench of Justice V.M. Kanade and Justice B.P. Colabawala posted the matter for Friday after the company's lawyer mentioned it in the court on Thursday. Earlier, the matter had been listed for June 18.

The company, in a filing with stock exchanges, said it was also seeking a similar review of a June 6 order passed by the Food and Drug Administration of Maharashtra.

"At the same time, we are continuing the withdrawal of Maggi products. This action (moving the court) will not interfere with this (withdrawal) process. We shall proceed further as per the orders that may be passed by the Hon'ble Bombay High Court," Nestle India further added.

In technical terms, Nestle moved the court over issues pertaining to the interpretation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2011.

Nestle had been ordered to withdraw Maggi by the food safety regulator after some samples were allegedly found to contain higher-than-permissible levels of lead - a premise that was rejected by the company, saying its own independent tests suggested otherwise.

Several states have also issued their own ban orders, even as the regulator widened its testing process to other brands of instant noodles and pasta with tastemaker.