Delhi High Court Sets Aside FSSAI Order Directing Red Bull To Drop 'Energy Drink' Label

The Delhi High Court has set aside a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) order dated June 30, 2026, directing Red Bull India Pvt Ltd not to use the term “Energy Drink” for its products

Justice Amit Mahajan said that Red Bull was not given any opportunity to show cause or explain its position and there was no claim of any extreme emergency warranting such action. The Court therefore held that the order was passed in violation of the principles of natural justice.

"As noted above, the Petitioner in the present case has not been afforded any opportunity to show cause or explain before passing the impugned order. It is not the case of the Respondents that the order has been passed in any extreme emergent situation. The impugned order is therefore passed without following the principles of natural justice.", the Court said. 

The Court noted that Red Bull had been selling the product since 2002 and that an order of such nature could have serious consequences for its business and employees.

It therefore reiterated that an authority cannot pass an order having serious civil consequences without giving the affected party an opportunity of hearing.

The Court observed that Red Bull had not been afforded any opportunity to show cause or explain before the impugned order was passed. It also noted that the respondents did not claim that the order was necessitated by any extreme emergency.

The order was therefore passed in violation of the principles of natural justice.

Accordingly, the Court allowed Red Bull's petition and set aside the June 30 order along with all consequential steps. It permitted the respondents to pass a fresh order after giving the company an opportunity to show cause and be heard.

The Court clarified that it had not examined whether Red Bull's product actually violates the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 or whether the respondents have the power to direct discontinuation of the product.

For Petitioner: Sandeep Sethi & Mr. Suhail Dutt, Sr. Advs. with Advocates Abhixit Singh, Pavni Tuli, Bhaskar Joshi, Sachdev Sharma, Megha Saha, Sakshi Rana, Krisna Gambhir, Azhar Alam, Shreya Sethi & Ritwik Sharma

For Respondents: Ishkaran Singh Bhandari, CGSC with Advocate Piyush Yadav, Amit Meharia, Tanishtha Singh, Sambhav & Vibhor Victor