Court Unquote

FSSAI litigations, Nitin Gadkari vs Deepfakes, Supreme Court Judges Bill, and more

Your weekly rundown of significant judicial rulings and legal battles influencing policy, companies, regulation, and governance

istock.com
Article related image
The Delhi High Court has quashed the criminal case against Nestle over alleged excess use of lead in Maggi
Author

August 10, 2026 at 5:57 AM IST

“It is the duty of the court to protect the freedom of speech and expression. It is not the function of the court to preach or teach protestors what they should or should not say.”

-Justice (Retd) Abhay S. Oka in an address

Procedural Lapses Undermining India's Food Safety Regime 
India’s food regulation, whose primary focus ought to be consumer protection, continues to be undermined by weak evidentiary foundations and procedural lapses. Last week, two FSSAI actions were stayed or set aside by courts, highlighting how food regulation-related litigation often falters at the procedural level. The Delhi High Court stayed FSSAI’s order directing Dabur not to use the "100% pure" label for its food products, citing principles of natural justice and the need to give the company an opportunity to present its case. Separately, the Delhi High Court quashed criminal proceedings arising from the decade-old Maggi noodles case, years after allegations of excessive lead content had put the company in the dock.

To be sure, consumer protection ought to be the highest consideration for both regulators and FMCG companies, and India should aspire to food safety standards on par with the best global benchmarks. However, regulations that already fall short of holding companies to the same standards as many Western jurisdictions are further weakened by poor implementation, inconsistent enforcement, and procedural lapses. The end result is that consumers are left worse off.

Key Rulings:

Courts:

  • In a relief for Dabur, Delhi High Court stays FSSAI order barring the company from using ‘100% pure’ claim for food products
  • Supreme Court issues notice and seeks response from telecom companies Airtel and Vodafone Idea on Centre’s appeal to restore one time spectrum charge
  • Supreme Court stays proceedings in high courts in cases challenging validity of the government’s Sahyog portal
  • A PIL in Delhi High Court seeks automatic TDS refund of non-taxable individuals and the court seeks centre’s reply on it
  • Bombay High Court orders takedown of deepfake, abusive online content flagged by Nitin Gadkari in relation to E20 fuel blending policy
  • Supreme Court asks RBI to form SOP on mule accounts in relation to digital arrest scam cases
  • Top Court says states are at a liberty to withdraw FIRs against CJP protesters unless they have criminal antecedents for grave and heinous offences
  • Delhi High Court quashes criminal case against Nestle over allegations of excess use of lead in Maggi
  • Bombay High Court to look into possibility for liquor companies to resume sales after FSSAI’s prohibition

Other:

  • Prasanta Mahapatra takes charge as SEBI Executive Director
  • Lok Sabha passes bill to increase Supreme Court judge strength to 38

The Big Listings:

  • Aug 4: Bombay High Court to hear Nitin Gadkari’s plea against tech companies over AI, deepfake content
  • Aug 13: Delhi Court to pronounce order on plea for registration of FIR against Sonia Gandhi over inclusion in voter roll
  • Sep 4: Securities Appellate Tribunal to hear appeal by Jane Street challenging SEBI’s move to allegedly refuse access to important documents to the firm in the case against it

* The dates of hearing can change and a concrete list is prepared just a day before

Legal Moves: 

  • Centre notifies appointment of:

         --Six lawyers as judges at the Karnataka High Court

         --Advocate Amit Lahoti as the judge at the Madhya Pradesh High Court

         --Five permanent judges and three additional judges at the Madras high Court

         --Eight advocates as judges at the Calcutta High Court

More From BasisPoint