Maharashtra Government - the welfare of consumers was its top priority in cancelling Johnson & Johnson's license

On Thursday, the Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court that the health and welfare of consumers was its top priority in canceling Johnson & Johnson's license to manufacture baby powder in the state.

As the State stated in its affidavit before the Court, it would be grossly negligent if it failed to enforce the statutory provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. 

As part of the response, the State filed an affidavit opposing the petition filed by Johnson & Johnson challenging the cancellation of a license to manufacture cosmetic products in Maharashtra.

Two samples of baby powder sent for testing were reported as “not of standard quality,” since the pH was 8.42 by the FDA officer. According to the Act, the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) at Kolkata upheld this conclusion, which was considered conclusive evidence. 

In the affidavit, Johnson & Johnson claimed that pH values didn't impact consumer health.

On Thursday, Justices SV Gangpurwala and SG Dige asked the State whether it had tested more samples from the same batch of baby powder, or from any other batch.

According to Johnson and Johnson's petition, the state canceled the license despite providing stability and test reports on the latest batches of talcum powder. Additionally, the company allegedly promised to submit pH reports.