MUZAFFARABAD: Terming food adulteration in Muzaffarabad “highly alarming”, the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday ordered a crackdown on the sale of substandard and hazardous food items and directed the government to initiate a formal inquiry against the secretary food and senior officials of the AJK Food Authority over alleged mismanagement, collusion and failure to discharge statutory duties.

The observations were made in an order passed by a full court bench headed by Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram on a petition filed by civil society activist Shahid Zaman, after the court examined a detailed report submitted by the municipal magistrate and questioned senior officials of the food and livestock departments who had been summoned in person.

The court noted that influential traders dealing in frozen meat and other food items had managed to continue their businesses by filing multiple petitions and securing interim relief from courts, thereby preventing municipal authorities from taking action.

It observed that under the cover of such interim orders, substandard, non-certified and hazardous frozen meat continued to be sold in markets, posing a serious threat to public health.

Orders crack down on food adulteration

Referring specifically to Muzaffarabad, the court said traders had allegedly prepared fake packaging of well-known companies and sold low-quality and partially melted frozen meat sourced from outside AJK through brokers, using unsuitable vehicles that failed to maintain required temperatures. It also took note of allegations that fake registrations were issued under the names of registered companies with the connivance of officials.

The bench found that the laboratory operating under the AJK Food Authority was neither ISO-certified nor capable of detecting key forms of adulteration, including artificial milk prepared from powder. It pointed out contradictions in laboratory reports showing increased fat and solid-not-fat (SNF) levels while simultaneously recording water adulteration, terming such reports unreliable.

The judges observed that despite these deficiencies, the Food Authority had misinformed the High Court by claiming that all food testing was being conducted at its laboratory.

Expressing concern over the existing enforcement mechanism, the court noted that Food Authority officials themselves collected samples, tested them at their own laboratory and imposed penalties, leading to complaints from traders regarding arbitrariness and lack of transparency.

The bench further observed that despite earlier directions to establish a proper laboratory, the authority had instead spent around Rs120 million on mobile laboratories, which failed to achieve their stated purpose.

Concluding that the Food Authority had failed to fulfil the very objective for which it was established, the court directed the government to initiate a formal inquiry against the secretary food and other concerned officers, particularly with regard to the procurement of mobile laboratories. It also ordered the issuance of show-cause notices for contempt of court over non-compliance with previous directives.

The court also expressed serious concern over the performance of the Food Authority staff and directed the government to induct suitably qualified personnel in line with the standards of the Punjab Food Authority. It ordered immediate advertisement of relevant posts and framing of eligibility criteria in consultation with the Punjab Food Authority to ensure transparent and lawful appointments.

Vacating all interim relief granted by subordinate courts in cases relating to adulterated food and milk, the apex court directed the High Court and lower courts to decide all such cases within six months. It ordered the sealing and permanent closure of businesses involved in fake registrations, forged packaging and the sale of hazardous frozen meat, and imposed a ban on the sale and distribution of frozen food items of fake companies across AJK.

The court further directed the livestock department to ensure daily inspections at slaughterhouses and conduct surprise checks of meat and frozen food during transportation, ordering the seizure and destruction of frozen meat found above prescribed temperature limits. It also mandated cross-testing of milk samples at both the AJK Food Authority laboratory and PCSIR Lahore to assess laboratory performance.

While highlighting regulatory failures, the court noted a positive development that local dairy farms had increased following action against the milk mafia, with approximately 23,000 litres of milk now being supplied daily, and directed authorities to encourage such farms in accordance with the law.

Adjourning the proceedings, the court ordered that the case be relisted at the Mirpur Circuit and directed the personal appearance of the secretary food, officers of the Food Authority, the director general livestock and the magistrate, Municipal Corporation Muzaffarabad, on the next date of hearing.

The court order came a day after AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore had himself inspectedthemobile food testing labs and termed theirestablishment an essential step towards protecting public health. The premier had also categoricallyordered a strict and effective crackdown against food adulteration across the state.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2026