HC seeks Centre's reply on appointment of FSSAI chairperson

The Delhi High Court today sought the Centre's response on a PIL challenging the appointment of the Chairperson of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul asked the government to file an affidavit as to whether the eligibility criteria was fulfilled during the appointment of FSSAI's new Chairperson.
"They (Centre) will file an affidavit within four weeks, whether the chairperson was eligible for the post as desired under Section 5 of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006," the court said.
The court's direction came while hearing of a PIL filed by Lok Jagriti, a Ghaziabad-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), on May 29, 2013.

The PIL stated that K Chandramouli did not fulfil the eligibility criteria for the post.
Chandramouli was appointed as a new chairman on August 5, 2013.
During the hearing, advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for FSSAI, denied all the charges made in the PIL and said the appointment was done as per the rules and norms prescribed in the Act".
The PIL, filed through senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, also stated that while searching for the chairperson of the apex food authority, many people with scientific background were available but ignored and only a person with administrative background was chosen.