4 min readJul 15, 2026 03:13 PM IST Pan shops across Maharashtra remained shut on Tuesday as traders observed a statewide bandh to protest what they alleged was the indiscriminate use of stringent criminal laws against small retailers. More than 1,000 pan shop owners and workers gathered at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan before submitting their demands to the state government. Here’s why they are protesting. Why are pan shop owners protesting? The protest is not against action on banned gutka or pan masala, but against what the Maharashtra Pan Vyapari Mahasang calls the misuse of stringent criminal laws against small retailers. According to the organisation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and police have increasingly booked pan shop owners caught selling banned tobacco products under Section 328, which deals with causing hurt by poison or other harmful substances, as well as the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The traders argue that while they are willing to face prosecution under the Food Safety and Standards Act, which provides for imprisonment ranging from six months to …