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Delhi High Court seeks Centre, FSSAI responses on plea against Fortune Soya oil sale ban
The Delhi High Court has sought responses from the Centre and FSSAI on a plea by AWL Agri Business Ltd challenging the prohibition on manufacture and sale of its Fortune Soya Health Refined Soyabean Oil over alleged misleading label claims. The court rejected territorial jurisdiction objections and scheduled the next hearing for November 5.
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Court proceedings
The Delhi High Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on a petition by AWL Agri Business Ltd challenging the prohibition on manufacture and sale of its 'Fortune Soya Health Refined Soyabean Oil' over alleged misleading label declarations and claims.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, FSSAI, and other authorities, directing them to file their responses within four weeks. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 5.
The authorities had opposed the maintainability of the petition on the ground of territorial jurisdiction, submitting that the company was based in Gujarat and the product was manufactured and marketed from outside Delhi, so no part of the cause of action arose within the court's jurisdiction.
Justice Sharma, however, held that the petition could not be said to lack territorial jurisdiction. "The foundational actions which are directly impugned by the petitioner were taken by FSSAI in Delhi and form the very basis of the reliefs sought in the petition," the court said, as quoted in the reports. "Both respondent nos. 3 and 4 (FSSAI) are authorities situated within the territorial jurisdiction of this court. Thus, insofar as the principal reliefs sought in the petition are concerned, the persons and authorities against whom the writs are sought are amenable to the jurisdiction of this court."
FSSAI's actions
According to the petition, on July 17, FSSAI issued a show-cause notice to AWL Agri Business Ltd alleging contravention of the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, and the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020. The notice called upon the company to clarify within seven days why action should not be initiated under the Food Safety and Standards Act.
On the same day, FSSAI issued a communication to food safety commissioners in all states and Union Territories, directing them to ensure that products described as "non-compliant products" were not manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold in their respective jurisdictions.
The petitioner contended that this communication effectively treated its soyabean oil as a "non-compliant product," exposing the company and its distributors, stockists, wholesalers, and retailers to enforcement action across the country.
The company had received FSSAI notices over claims on its product of being "100% Veg" and "Cholesterol Free – For Healthy Lifestyle."
Impact on distribution
In August, some of the company's distributors informed it that food safety officers had visited their premises and directed them to stop selling the product. Following this, retailers declined fresh orders and distributors sought the return of existing stocks, according to the reports.
How each outlet told it
A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.
Framing: The Delhi High Court's action of asking the Centre and FSSAI to respond to a plea seeking to prohibit the sale of a specific product. — neutral and factual
Facts Included:
The Delhi High Court has sought response of Centre and FSSAI on a plea challenging show cause notice prohibiting manufacture and sale of 'Fortune Soya Health Refined Soyabean Oil'.
Petitioner AWL Agri Business Limited received FSSAI notices over claims of being '100% Veg' and 'Cholesterol Free – For Healthy Lifestyle'.
The respondent authorities opposed the maintainability of the petition on the ground of territorial jurisdiction.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that the petition cannot be held to be lacking in territorial jurisdiction.
The court asked the authorities to file their responses within four weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on November 5.
On July 17, FSSAI issued a show cause notice to the petitioner alleging contravention of the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, and the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
FSSAI issued a letter to the commissioners of food safety of all states and union territories, directing them to ensure that products described as 'non-compliant products' are not manufactured, distributed, marketed or sold.
The petitioner said the letter effectively treated 'Fortune Soya Health Refined Soyabean Oil' as a 'non-compliant product' and exposed it and its distributors, stockists, wholesalers and retailers across India to enforcement action.
In August, the petitioner received communications from some of its distributors that food safety officers visited their premises and directed stoppage of sale of the product.
Framing: The headline emphasizes the legal scrutiny of Fortune Soya refined oil by the Delhi High Court and its request for responses from Centre and FSSAI. — Measured and legalistic, focusing on procedural details and court rulings.
Facts Included:
The Delhi High Court has sought response of Centre and FSSAI on a plea challenging show-cause notice prohibiting manufacture and sale of 'Fortune Soya Health Refined Soyabean Oil' for alleged misleading label declarations and claims.
Petitioner AWL Agri Business Limited received FSSAI notices over claims of being '100% Veg', 'Cholesterol Free' and 'For Healthy Lifestyle' for its product.
Respondent authorities opposed maintainability on territorial jurisdiction grounds, stating the company was based in Gujarat and the product was manufactured and marketed from outside Delhi.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that the petition cannot be held to be lacking in territorial jurisdiction and that foundational actions were taken by FSSAI in Delhi.
The court asked authorities to file responses within four weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on November 5.
On July 17, FSSAI issued a show cause notice to the petitioner alleging contravention of regulations and calling for clarification within seven days.
On the same day, FSSAI issued a letter to commissioners of food safety of all states and union territories directing them to ensure non-compliant products are not manufactured, distributed, marketed or sold.
The petitioner said the letter effectively treated the product as a 'non-compliant product' and exposed it to enforcement action.
In August, the petitioner received communications from distributors that food safety officers visited their premises and directed stoppage of sale, leading retailers to decline fresh orders and seek return of stock.
Framing: Legal challenge to FSSAI's ban on Fortune soyabean oil, emphasizing court's request for response.
Facts Included:
Delhi High Court sought response from the Centre and FSSAI on a petition by AWL Agri Business Ltd.
Petition challenges FSSAI's prohibition on manufacture and sale of 'Fortune Soya Health Refined Soyabean Oil' over alleged misleading label declarations.
Two claims challenged: '100% Veg' and 'Cholesterol Free – For Healthy Lifestyle'.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, FSSAI, and others, with response due in four weeks.
Case listed for further hearing on November 5.
FSSAI issued show-cause notice on July 17 alleging violations of the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, and Labelling and Display Regulations, 2020.
FSSAI communication to state food safety commissioners directed them to ensure products described as 'non-compliant products' were not manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold.
Petitioner contended the communication classified its soyabean oil as non-compliant and exposed it to enforcement action nationally.
Distributors informed company in August that food safety officers directed them to stop selling the product.
Retailers declined fresh orders and distributors sought return of existing stocks.
Court noted FSSAI is within Delhi jurisdiction, rejecting respondents' objection about cause of action.
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimThe Delhi High Court sought a response from the Centre and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on a petition by AWL Agri Business Ltd. challenging action by the FSSAI prohibiting the manufacture and sale of its 'Fortune Soya Health Refined Soyabean Oil'.
ClaimAWL Agri Business Limited received FSSAI notices over claims on its product 'Fortune Soya Health Refined Soyabean Oil' of being '100% Veg', 'Cholesterol Free' and 'For Healthy Lifestyle'.
ClaimJustice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, FSSAI, and other authorities and directed them to file responses within four weeks.
ClaimFSSAI issued a show-cause notice to the company on July 17, alleging violations of the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, and the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
ClaimOn July 17, FSSAI issued a communication to food safety commissioners in all States and Union Territories, directing them to ensure that products described as 'non-compliant products' were not manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold in their respective jurisdictions.
ClaimThe petitioner contended that the communication effectively classified its soyabean oil as a 'non-compliant product' and exposed the company and its distributors, stockists, wholesalers and retailers to enforcement action across the country.
ClaimIn August, some of the petitioner's distributors informed it that food safety officers had visited their premises and directed them to stop selling the product.
ClaimThe respondent authorities opposed the maintainability of the petition on the ground of territorial jurisdiction, submitting that no part of the cause of action arose in Delhi because the company was based in Gujarat and the product was manufactured and marketed from outside Delhi.
ClaimJustice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that the petition cannot be held to be lacking in territorial jurisdiction and that the foundational actions which are directly impugned by the petitioner were taken by FSSAI in Delhi and form the very basis of the reliefs sought in the petition.
ClaimThe court noted that both respondent nos. 3 and 4 (FSSAI) are authorities situated within the territorial jurisdiction of this court, and thus the persons and authorities against whom the writs are sought are amenable to the jurisdiction of this court.
ClaimThe FSSAI show-cause notice called upon the company to clarify within seven days as to why action should not be initiated under the Food Safety and Standards Act.