Mumbai, September 28, 2026: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has accused officials of Maharashtra’s Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) of allegedly extorting money from hotels, eateries and quick-commerce businesses, and has demanded an independent inquiry into the allegations.
In a letter addressed to FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, Raut alleged that certain FDA offices, including those in Bandra and Thane, had become centres of alleged extortion, where business operators were allegedly threatened with licence suspension and pressured to pay large sums of money.
Raut claimed that business operators from Nagpur, Pune, Solapur, Wardha and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar had approached him with complaints concerning alleged extortion through what he described as “closing notices.”
According to Raut, designated officers, assistant commissioners and food safety officers were allegedly using inspections and raids to threaten hotels and quick-commerce companies with licence suspensions.
Alleged ₹17–18 Lakh Payment
Raut cited an alleged case in Thane, claiming that two designated officers collected between ₹17 lakh and ₹18 lakh from a quick-commerce company for restoration of a suspended licence.
He also referred to another alleged case involving a hotel whose licence was reportedly suspended following a social-media post concerning a rat. Raut claimed that officials did not find any rodent during their subsequent inspection.
The allegations have not been independently established in the material provided, and an official response from the Maharashtra FDA would be necessary to assess the claims.
Questions Over Closing Notices
Raut further alleged that many FDA raids originate from customer complaints, but questioned whether such complaints are independently verified before enforcement action is initiated.
He demanded an independent investigation into what he described as “closing notice rate cards” allegedly operating in Bandra, Thane and other divisions.
According to his letter, Raut claimed that the alleged amount associated with a closing notice had increased from around ₹10,000–₹12,000 before Mundhe became FDA Commissioner to approximately ₹75,000–₹2 lakh afterward.
Demand for Disciplinary Action
Raut called for disciplinary action against any officials found to have bypassed the legally prescribed notice-hearing-suspension procedure.
He also demanded that the FDA publicly disclose the reasons, dates and summaries of hearings associated with every licence suspension and subsequent reinstatement.
Raut argued that administrative reforms would remain incomplete unless effective oversight was exercised over FDA officials and called for transparency in enforcement proceedings.
The allegations have now put the functioning of FDA enforcement operations under scrutiny, particularly concerning inspections, licence suspensions and reinstatement procedures. Any independent inquiry or official investigation would determine whether the alleged practices occurred and whether disciplinary or legal action is warranted.
