Bombay HC To Hear Liquor Makers’ Challenge To FSSAI Orders Halting Fresh Stocks Of McDowell’s And Old Monk

Mumbai, August 8, 2026: United Spirits Ltd and Mohan Meakin Ltd have challenged FSSAI orders that forbid the production and sale of fresh stocks of their IMFL brands McDowell’s No. 1 Celebration Matured Rum and Old Monk. The manufacturers have disputed the regulator’s prohibition after inspecting their facilities and raising objections about labeling, ingredient composition, and flavoring agents.

United Spirits lawyer Birendra Saraf argued before a bench led by Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad that the FSSAI’s decision has crippled roughly 30% of the IMFL sector and that the brands have been produced using a consistent method for five decades. The challenge centers on a June 29 prohibition order and a July 27 conditional prohibition order from FSSAI’s Western Regional Office, which permits clearing existing stocks with new labeling marked as “Rum Flavored Spirit”, but bans manufacturing and selling of new stocks.

FSSAI spokesperson Sangeeta Yadav contended that the regulator’s worry is about accurate labeling, claiming the products include unauthorized artificial or nature-identical flavoring and false descriptions that might deceive consumers. The regulator maintains that products containing external rum flavor should be labeled as flavored spirits, not standard rum.

The court acknowledged that “everything can’t be shut down overnight,” but said it isn’t an expert body to evaluate the product's composition and labeling without hearing from FSSAI. The Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh was directed to represent FSSAI’s instructions in the case. The petitioners also raised concerns about the legal standing of the FSSAI officer to issue prohibition orders, questioning Section 36(3)(b) of the Food Safety and Standards Act’s authority to independently prohibit manufacturing and selling.