Hygiene and food safety standards have to be maintained across all eating joints in the city and the Food Safety Department cannot just pick and choose restaurants to implement the guidelines, the High Court told the Delhi government on Thursday.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva made the observation while ordering withdrawal of notices issued against Kake Da Hotel, a popular eating joint in the heart of the Capital, over alleged lack of hygiene and food safety standards.
A controversy had recently erupted due to a video allegedly showing dough being kneaded by foot atop the hotel in Connaught Place.
“You cannot pick and choose restaurants. You have to ensure that the same standards are maintained everywhere,” the court told the department.
Kake Da Hotel submitted before the court that it has complied with all requirements barring two deficiencies: non-hand operated taps and a chimney, which it said would be installed within a week.
The submission was endorsed by the department, which said that the hotel was now “one of the most hygienic places” in the city.
Taking action
The department also told the court it would inspect all eateries and would take action against those not complying with hygiene standards. In response, the court said that if the department did this, then it expected to see hundreds of petitions before it.
