The Madras High Court on Friday ordered that food safety officials should not take television crews along with them when they inspect the kitchens of restaurants and hotels and take samples to test the quality of food served there. The court made it clear that the officials could, however, engage the services of private camerapersons.
Justice R. Suresh Kumar also ordered that the footage shot by private camerapersons must be used only for successful prosecution of the case and that the officials should not give interviews to the media, without the leave of the court, damaging the reputation of the restaurateurs even before if it could be proved that there was any wrongdoing.
The interim orders were passed on a writ petition filed by the Chennai Hotels Association represented by Senior Counsel P.S. Raman who contended that a designated officer for Chennai city under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) of 2006 was a ‘publicity freak’ who takes along with him a battery of television crew during every inspection.
