Old Monk withdraws court petition following labelling dispute

Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries Private Limited, the manufacturer of Old Monk brand rum, has withdrawn its petition filed before the Bombay High Court. The company had initiated this legal battle to challenge a sales ban implemented by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), but has now expressed agreement to amend the labels. According to a report by Mint, the dispute pertained to the labelling and description of the product.

FSSAI had specifically raised objections to products in which additional flavouring agents were added. The regulatory body directed that such products should be labelled and marketed as 'rum-flavoured spirit' instead of being identified as 'rum'. Additionally, FSSAI raised serious questions regarding descriptions on the product packaging such as "7 Years Old Blended" and "Very Old Vatted".

As a result of this dispute, the regulatory body had imposed a ban on the sale and distribution of several Old Monk products manufactured at the company's Khopoli plant. The company had previously argued in court that this sales ban caused a loss of over ₹ 350 crore in excise revenue to the Maharashtra government.

During the hearing held on Thursday, the bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethani was informed by the company that they would amend the product labels. The company assured that samples of the revised labels would be submitted to FSSAI for approval. According to the Mint report, when the Bombay High Court refused to grant interim relief against the regulatory body's order, the company decided not to pursue the case on merits and withdrew its petition. Subsequently, the court disposed of the matter.

The central issue of the entire dispute was the classification and labelling of certain Old Monk variants. FSSAI maintained the clear view that it is incorrect to call products containing flavouring agents 'rum' and they should only be identified as 'rum-flavoured spirit'. Along with this, the authority also objected to age-related claims such as the description of being "7 years old".

The company has now accepted that it will comply with the rules and make changes to the packaging as per FSSAI's directives. To lift the ban on products made at the Khopoli facility, the company has now taken steps toward improving the labelling process. Having failed to secure interim relief from the court, the company has chosen the path of administrative correction over legal recourse.