Bombay HC denies interim relief to Old Monk maker as Centre reviews labels

MUMBAI: Old Monk’s label tussle is heading back to court. The Bombay High Court has adjourned the hearing in a petition by Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries after the Centre sought time to consider three modified product labels submitted by the maker.

Additional solicitor general of India Anil Singh, appearing for the respondents including the central government and officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), sought instructions on the proposed changes before the matter could proceed.

The company, represented by senior advocate Navroz Seervai, submitted the three modified labels without prejudice, signalling that it is willing to change the packaging in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

Seervai told the court that the company would adopt the modified labels if the respondents accepted them. If they were opposed, the proposed labels would be withdrawn.

Following Singh’s request for time, a division bench comprising acting chief justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad listed the matter for further hearing on September 8, 2026, before the Urgent Supplementary Board.

The development comes after the court declined to grant interim relief to the Old Monk maker.

Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries had sought a stay on the FSSAI order and permission to sell rum already manufactured while its broader challenge to the regulator’s decision remains pending.

The court, however, observed that granting such relief at this stage could effectively amount to granting the final relief sought in the petition. The bench also noted that both sides were already advancing detailed arguments on the matter, which is pending final disposal.

The dispute stems from an FSSAI order that stopped the sale of Old Monk in Maharashtra following an inspection of the company’s manufacturing facility in Khopoli, Raigad district.

The regulator’s action was linked to the use of external rum flavouring. FSSAI took the view that the product should explicitly be labelled as “flavoured rum” if such flavouring was being used.

The company has challenged the regulatory action before the High Court, while the latest submission of modified labels appears to open the door to a possible resolution without waiting for the wider legal dispute to conclude.

Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries is represented by senior advocate Navroz Seervai, along with Ranbir Singh and Abhay Jadeja of Jadejas & Partners.

The central government, FSSAI and its senior officials are represented by additional solicitor general of India Anil Singh, senior advocate Rajshekhar Govilkar, and counsels Vikram Walwalkar and Pratik Sabrad.

For now, the fate of Old Monk’s revised labels rests with the regulator’s response, with the Bombay High Court set to take up the matter again on September 8.