Delhi High Court protects JNTL Consumer Health from FSSAI’s ‘ORS’ trademark ban

The Delhi High Court has granted interim protection to JNTL Consumer Health (India) in a writ petition challenging the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) sudden withdrawal of earlier approvals that had allowed the use of the term “ORS” with prefixes or suffixes in registered trademarks for electrolyte and beverage products. [JNTL Consumer Health (India) Pvt. Ltd v. Union of India].Justice Sachin Datta directed that FSSAI shall not give effect to the orders dated October 14 and 15, 2025 insofar as they concern the petitioner."It is further agreed that till the said representation is decided in accordance with law and after affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, and duly taking into account the contentions raised in the present petition, the impugned order dated 14.10.2025 and 15.10.2025 shall not be given effect to, qua the petitioner.".The petition challenged FSSAI’s abrupt decision to revoke its earlier orders dated July 14, 2022 and February 2, 2024, which had permitted food business operators with valid registered trademarks containing “ORS” to continue using them with clear disclaimers stating that the products were not oral rehydration salt formulations recommended by WHO.JNTL, which manufactures and markets the popular hydration drink ORSL, argued that the withdrawal had been effected without prior notice, consultation, or hearing, in violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011 and the Delhi High Court’s 2021 order in Rupa Singh v Union of India, which required FSSAI to conduct stakeholder consultations before taking any adverse action on the issue..The company submitted that the orders exposed it to potential enforcement actions, including product seizures, license suspensions and criminal penalties, despite its full compliance with FSSAI’s earlier directions. JNTL stated that products worth approximately ₹155–180 crore were currently in the supply chain and that the abrupt reversal would cause irreparable harm to its brand and goodwill built over two decades.The petition also referred to the view of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, which had confirmed that the use of “ORS” with prefixes or suffixes could form part of a composite mark under Section 17 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. JNTL argued that FSSAI’s earlier stance -endorsing that position and accepted before the High Court of Telangana -was binding and could not have been reversed without following due process.The High Court’s order ensures that no coercive action will be taken against JNTL until FSSAI reconsiders its position after granting the company a hearing..JNTL was represented by Senior Advocates Sandeep Sethi and Pragyan Sharma with Advocates Gawree Gokhale, Alipak Banerjee and Parva Khare, briefed by a team from Bahuguna Law Associates comprising Meghna Mishra, Ritesh Kumar, Ankit Rajgharia, Siddharth Joshi, Ujjwala Gupta, Shubham Madaan and Hardik Jain.