The Delhi High Court lately refused to permit JNTL Consumer Health India Pvt Ltd to sell its existing stock of electrolyte beverages labelled “ORSL”, which the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned from being marketed as Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS).
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela dismissed the company’s request to liquidate its remaining stock, observing that the case pertained to misbranding and public health concerns.
“Sorry, we can’t permit it. Please recall it. The matter relates to a public health concern,” the bench told the company’s counsel, adding that while the product might not be harmful, it could mislead consumers, especially in rural areas where people associate “ORS” with life-saving oral rehydration therapy for diarrhoea.
The court emphasized that the use of the term “ORS” for non-standard formulations could create confusion among vulnerable populations. “In your product, you are also writing ‘electrolytes’; there is a possibility of being misleading. It is not harmful to someone fit to take it, but it can be harmful to those who are not,” the court said.
The bench recalled the pivotal role of ORS in reducing child mortality in India, noting that the product’s misuse in branding was a serious regulatory concern.
The court also issued notices to the Centre and the FSSAI on the main petition challenging the food authority’s October 14 and 15 orders, which withdrew permission for any beverage or food manufacturer to use the term “ORS” unless the product adhered to the standard medical formulation prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The matter will be heard next on December 9.
Senior advocates Sandeep Sethi and Mukul Rohatgi, representing the petitioner, argued that the company had been selling ORSL for over 20 years under valid licences and a registered trademark, and that production had already been halted. They requested limited permission to sell existing retail stocks, stating that the drink did not claim to be WHO-standard ORS.
However, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and standing counsel Ashish Dixit, appearing for the Centre and FSSAI, opposed the plea, asserting that misleading ORS labelling posed a grave public health risk.
The FSSAI’s October directive has triggered a nationwide recall and prohibition of beverages using the “ORS” label without meeting the prescribed formulation. The regulator maintains that such branding is misleading, particularly for children and rural consumers, and violates the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Earlier, a single judge of the Delhi High Court had similarly dismissed Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories’ plea challenging the same FSSAI directive for its Rebalanz VITORS brand, ruling that the regulator’s actions were driven by serious public health considerations.