The Delhi High Court issued a clarification on Tuesday regarding its prior decision that permitted Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, JNTL Consumer Health, to continue selling its electrolyte drinks under the ORSL trademark. The court stressed that the intention behind the order was never to allow companies to misleadingly use the term ‘ORS’ in their product manufacturing.
This clarification comes after the High Court had, on October 17, shielded JNTL Consumer Health from a directive by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that prohibited the use of ‘ORS’ on beverages. The initial protection was granted after JNTL committed to submitting a representation against the ban within a week, to which the FSSAI agreed not to enforce its order until a decision was made on JNTL’s representation.
Justice Sachin Datta elaborated on Tuesday that the consent order from October 17 was based on the expectation that the FSSAI would address JNTL’s representation within two to three days. He stated, “I would have restrained the manufacturers from manufacturing fresh batches had I known that the FSSAI would take two weeks to make a decision. The consent order was passed to enable FSSAI to take the requisite steps. It wasn’t to allow these manufacturers to continue manufacturing the products. The idea was that the FSSAI would do the needful in two to three days.”
The court’s clarification was prompted by significant criticism on social media, where the earlier order was widely interpreted as granting permission for food and business operators (FBOs) to continue producing beverages with ‘ORS’ branding.
Previously, on October 14 and 15, the FSSAI had issued orders to prevent FBOs from using ‘ORS’ as a prefix or suffix in the names, labels, advertisements, or trademarks of food and beverage products, citing that such use was misleading and violated the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The court’s remarks were made during the hearing of a separate plea filed by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, which sought permission to sell its existing electrolyte drink, Rebalanz VITORS, based on the October 17 order. Dr. Reddy’s claimed to have unsold products valued at over ₹1 crore, all of which carried the necessary disclaimers from organizations like the WHO.
The FSSAI’s counsel indicated that a decision on JNTL’s representation would be made by Friday. The court scheduled the next hearing for October 31 and warned that if the FSSAI failed to decide by then, it would issue orders to restrain manufacturers from producing these beverages. The judge further advised the FSSAI’s lawyer, “If you (FSSAI) are unable to do it, you can move an application. I contemplate passing orders to restrain the manufacturers from manufacturing.”