The Delhi High Court on 6 October 2026 stayed a regulator’s order requiring Reliance Consumer Products to remove the energy drink label from its Campa Energy Drink Gold Boost product. Reliance, the beverage arm of Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate, had filed a petition on 1 October to have the order quashed. The court will hear the case next on 5 November.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued the order on 30 June, telling makers of high-caffeine drinks sold as energy drinks to stop using that description. The court asked why Reliance received no notice before action was taken, and said the regulator could still correct that. The stay also covers a follow-up enforcement communication and steps taken under it. PepsiCo and Monster Beverage have filed similar challenges, which the court is due to hear as well.
The regulator’s case
FSSAI has said there are no Indian standards for such drinks and that claims a beverage vitalises body and mind, or helps with general weakness, are misleading. Regulators elsewhere have raised concerns about the caffeine, sugar and taurine in energy drinks. The court’s stated concern was process, and the stay is temporary, so the label question itself has not been decided.
Millions of cans already printed
Reliance says it holds finished stock of 168 million cans and 120 million plastic bottles carrying the label, plus pre-printed packaging for another 400 million cans and 360 million bottles. Its petition says state authorities have seized stock and that e-commerce platforms were told to delist the products, which it says has disrupted sales and distribution. Those figures come from Reliance’s own filing and have not been independently confirmed.
State action began in July, when Rajasthan seized thousands of units of Sting, Campa Energy and Red Bull. On 8 July it also told e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Flipkart to ensure no product was promoted as an energy drink.
Why Campa needs the label
Reliance bought the Campa brand in 2022 and relaunched it in 2023, and energy drinks give it a place in a faster-growing category. Retail sales in India are projected to reach $1.6 billion by 2028, growing 12.6 per cent a year, faster than in the United States or China. A forced rename would hit the packaging already printed first.
What to watch
The stay holds until the 5 November hearing, when the PepsiCo and Monster petitions are also due before the court. What FSSAI does before then will decide how much of the printed stock stays usable. It could reissue the order after giving Reliance a hearing, or it could defend the original as it stands.
