New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday stayed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) prohibition order directing Dabur India Limited to stop the sale of certain food products carrying allegedly misleading “100 per cent” claims.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Amit Mahajan passed the order after observing that a prohibition order of such nature ought not to have been passed without providing Dabur an opportunity of being heard.
“Considering the arguments made by the senior counsel appearing for the petitioner, this court is of the prima facie view that the impugned prohibitory order of such nature ought not to have been passed without opportunity of hearing. Till the next date of hearing, the impugned order is stayed,” it said.
Justice Mahajan passed the interim order while issuing notice on Dabur India’s petition and seeking responses from the Central government and the FSSAI.
The matter will next be heard on August 24.
Dabur had approached the Delhi High Court challenging the FSSAI’s prohibition order after the regulator directed it to immediately stop the sale of identified food products carrying claims such as “100 per cent Natural”, “100 per cent Pure”, “100 per cent Purity Guaranteed”, “100 per cent Organic” and “100 per cent Tender Coconut Water”.
The matter was initially mentioned for urgent listing before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, which allowed the case to be taken up on an urgent basis.
During Friday’s hearing, senior counsel appearing for Dabur argued that the company had been selling the products for decades and contended that the officer who passed the order did not have the power to prohibit their sale in the manner adopted.
It was further argued that the order was passed without adhering to the principles of natural justice and without issuing any show-cause notice to the company.
Central Government Standing Counsel Ashish Dixit, appearing for the FSSAI, defended the regulator’s action, submitting that an improvement notice had been issued to Dabur before the prohibitory order was passed.
After considering the submissions, the Delhi High Court held that a prima facie case had been made out in favour of Dabur and stayed the operation of the prohibition order till the next date of hearing.
The FSSAI had earlier said that the “100 per cent” claims used on certain Dabur products were ambiguous, unverifiable, and likely to mislead consumers, in violation of the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018.
The regulator had also raised objections to the display of the Jaivik Bharat logo on Dabur Himalayan Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and Dabur Organic Honey, alleging that the products did not have valid FSSAI organic endorsement, in violation of the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017.
Further, the FSSAI had said that Dabur Hommade Coconut Milk was marketed with the claim “100 per cent Purity”, which was not permissible for compound food products.
The regulator had stated that Dabur failed to take satisfactory corrective action despite an earlier notice and consequently directed the company to stop sale of the identified products and submit an Action Taken Report within 15 days.
However, Dabur had maintained that its product labels complied with the prevailing legal and regulatory framework and were consistent with long-standing industry practices.
In regulatory filings before the BSE and NSE, the company had said it stood by the purity and quality of its products and had never made any misleading claims. Dabur had also said it continued to maintain the highest standards of quality, food safety and regulatory compliance in the manufacture and sale of its products, while clarifying that the impact of the prohibition order was limited to the products objected to by the regulator.
(IANS)
