The Telangana High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to file its counter to a PIL filed by senior paediatrician M. Sivaranjani Santhosh, seeking a ban on energy drinks sold with misleading names, packs, and labels.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy overruled the Registry Objections and issued notices on the PIL that said that according to Section 3(g) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Clause 27 of Scheduled-K of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, ORS is a drug.
However, the respondent manufacturers are marketing energy drinks with deceptive names and labels in order to appear to be ORS products. They are heavy in sugars and salts, which can lead to hospitalisation and even death, the PIL said. The petitioner said that earlier, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) issued a directive but there was no implementation.