Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries Pvt Ltd, the maker of the rum brand, has withdrawn its petition before the challenging a sales restriction imposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) over the labelling and product descriptions of certain variants.
had objected to the use of the term “rum” on products containing added flavouring agents, directing that they be labelled and marketed as “rum-flavoured spirit” instead. The regulator had also raised concerns over descriptions such as “7 Years Old Blended” and “Very Old Vatted”.
The authority had barred the sale and distribution of several Old Monk products manufactured at the company’s Khopoli facility.
During a hearing on Thursday, a bench led by Chief Justice Maheshchandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna was informed by the company that it would revise the product labels and submit the updated versions to FSSAI for approval.
The company’s decision to withdraw its petition follows the court’s refusal to grant interim relief against the regulator’s order.
The dispute centres on the classification and labelling of certain Old Monk variants. FSSAI’s objection was that products containing added flavouring agents should be described as “rum-flavoured spirit” rather than “rum”.
The regulator also questioned the use of age-related and product descriptions such as “7 Years Old Blended” and “Very Old Vatted”.
The sales and distribution restriction applied to several products manufactured at the company’s Khopoli facility.
The brewer had earlier argued that the sales restriction had resulted in a loss of more than ₹350 crore in excise revenue for the Maharashtra government.
However, after the Bombay High Court declined to grant interim relief against the FSSAI order, the company chose not to pursue the case on merits and withdrew its petition.
The court subsequently disposed of the matter.
