Red Bull has moved the Delhi High Court challenging a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) direction requiring it to discontinue the use of the words “Energy Drink” for its product [Red Bull Vs UoI]..The matter came up before Justice Amit Mahajan on Monday, when the Court questioned whether the company had been issued any show-cause notice or given an opportunity of hearing before the FSSAI order was passed.“If there is no notice… it has to go,” the Court remarked during the hearing.The Court asked FSSAI to take instructions specifically on whether any notice had been issued to Red Bull before the order was passed.It also questioned whether there was any urgency that justified taking action without first hearing the company.“Nothing emergent in it,” the Court observed.The matter has been listed for further hearing on September 29 (tomorrow). The Court did not pass any interim order granting protection to Red Bull in today's hearing..Red Bull has challenged a June 30, 2026 order issued by an Assistant Director of FSSAI directing it to discontinue the use of the descriptor “Energy Drink" from the range of caffienated beverages it sells. It has also challenged a consequential July 17 communication asking food safety officers across States and Union Territories to take steps against allegedly non-compliant products. According to the petition, Red Bull has been sold in India since 2002 under the same descriptor of "Energy Drink." The company has alleged that the June order to discontinue this practice was passed without issuing any show-cause notice or giving it an opportunity of hearing. It has further claimed that the July communication led to enforcement action, including seizure of its products at multiple locations across the country. Red Bull has also questioned what it says is a reversal in FSSAI’s own regulatory position.The company has relied on a March 2024 FSSAI advisory which, according to the petition, clarified that the expression “Energy Drink” was permissible for products licensed under the relevant food categories applicable to caffeinated beverages. .It has also pointed to an April 2024 press release issued by the Union Health Ministry, as well as to licences, import clearances and no-objection certificates granted over the years for Red Bull products bearing the same descriptor. The company has argued that the latest directions amount to an unexplained departure from that position, particularly since no change in law, regulation or scientific circumstances has been disclosed. Red Bull has contended that the impugned directions violate principles of natural justice, are contrary to the statutory scheme governing food regulation and breach the doctrine of legitimate expectation..Red Bull was represented by Senior Advocates Sandeep Sethi and Suhail Dutt with advocates Abhixit Singh, Bhaskar Joshi, Krisna Gambhir, Shreya Sethi and Ritwik Sharma.
