The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to grant any time to JNTL Consumer Health India Pvt Ltd to sell or dispose of its remaining stock of electrolyte beverages branded as 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 made it clear that the case was not about the product being harmful, but about misleading branding that could endanger public health. “Sorry, we can’t permit it. Please recall it (stock). We will not permit it. We are sorry. The matter relates to public health concern,” the bench said while rejecting the plea to allow liquidation of existing stocks.
The court observed that in rural areas, people often buy ORS for diarrhoea treatment, and the product’s branding could confuse them. “In your product, you are also writing electrolytes; there is a possibility of misleading. It is not harmful to someone who is fit to take it but it is harmful to those who are unfit to take it,” the bench remarked.
The court also noted the transformative role of genuine ORS in reducing child mortality in poor regions. “ORS has brought a revolution to a poor country like ours and the rate of deaths of children has gone down,” it said, adding that misbranding undermines this public health success.
Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Sandeep Sethi, appearing for the company, argued that ORSL had been legitimately manufactured and sold for over 20 years under valid licences and that the brand name was registered with the Controller of Patents and Trademarks. They said manufacturing had already been halted but sought time to clear existing stock, assuring the court that the company never claimed the drink followed the WHO-approved ORS formula.
Opposing the plea, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and FSSAI counsel Ashish Dixit stressed that the issue involved “serious public health concerns.”
Issuing notice to the Centre and the FSSAI, the court listed the case for further hearing on December 9.
Earlier, a single-judge bench had dismissed a similar plea by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd against the same FSSAI directive concerning its Rebalanz VITORS brand. The court had upheld FSSAI’s restrictions, calling them necessary regulatory measures driven by public health considerations.
The FSSAI’s October 14 order withdrew all prior permissions allowing food and beverage companies to use the term “ORS” unless their formulations strictly matched the WHO-recommended medical composition. The regulator said sugary or electrolyte drinks using “ORS” branding mislead consumers and violate the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
