Bombay High Court Directs Amazon Retail To Hand Over Expired Goods To FDA For Disposal

The Bombay High Court has recorded a stop-gap arrangement under which Amazon Retail India Pvt Ltd will prepare an inventory of expired goods lying inside its effectively sealed warehouse.

The goods will then be handed over to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for verification and disposal as per the prescribed procedure.

The case relates to FDA action concerning expired and damaged food products at Amazon Retail's warehouse in Bhiwandi, Thane. The FDA inspected the facility on June 24, 2026, and initiated proceedings concerning the handling and disposal of the expired products.

The order was passed by Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad on August 10, 2026. The parties arrived at the stop-gap arrangement during the hearing.

Amazon Retail has been given three days to prepare an inventory of all expired goods on the shelf inside the effectively sealed warehouse. The inventory will then be handed over to the FDA. The authority will verify the expired goods before taking them into custody.

The court directed the FDA to follow the Advisory dated November 3, 2025 and the earlier directives dated December 21, 2020. These prescribe the procedure for disposal of perishable, seized and rejected items.

“The said inventory would be prepared within three days from today. The said inventory would be handed over to Respondent No. 4, who would acknowledge it's receipt after verifying the expired goods that are being placed in his custody,” the court recorded.

The disposal is to be carried out in accordance with the November 3, 2025, advisory. The FDA has also been directed to prepare documentation recording receipt of the goods and their destruction.

The arrangement will remain in place until the petition is heard on its merits. The court will then pass further orders.

The court issued notice to the respondents, returnable on August 27. It directed that the affidavit-in-reply be filed by August 20.

For Petitioners: Venkatesh Dhond, Senior Advocate with Advocates Suhaan Mukerji, Prashant Gupta, Shubhank Patel, Pragati Mishra i/b. Harsh Hiroo Gursahani

For State: Neha S. Bhide, Government Pleader with O.A.Chandurkar, Addl.GP and Pooja Patil, AGP