The Delhi High Court declined to grant JNTL Consumer Health India Pvt Ltd (a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary) permission to sell existing stocks of its electrolyte beverage labelled ‘ORSL’, following a nationwide ban by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on the use of the term “ORS” for products not meeting the standard medical formulation.
The petitioner approached the High Court challenging the FSSAI orders of October 14 and 15 as well as October 30. It also challenged Regulation 5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Recall Procedure) Regulations, 2017.
The aforementioned FSSAI orders triggered an immediate recall and ban on manufacturing, sale, and marketing of electrolyte beverages using the “ORS” label unless they meet World Health Organization-prescribed formulations.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela clarified that the case was one of misbranding rather than product safety. The Court noted that, while there was no allegation that the product is harmful, its branding could mislead rural and vulnerable consumers seeking medically formulated oral rehydration solutions (ORS), a key intervention in dehydration and diarrhoeal illness.
The petitioner argued that ORSL has been legitimately marketed for two decades and has registered trademarks, but the court was not swayed, stressing that the risk of misleading consumers outweighed business hardship.
The bench highlighted broader public interest, explaining that use of the ORS tag on non-medical drinks could endanger children’s health in rural areas, where genuine ORS has been credited with saving countless lives. The court also emphasized that the FSSAI’s regulatory steps addressed serious issues of consumer protection and public health, not just intellectual property rights.
The court refused to grant interim relief to the petitioners and listed the main petition challenging the ban for further hearing on 9 December 2025.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner: Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Sandeep Sethi
For FSSAI: Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Ashish Dixit, Advocate Aditya Singla