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Uttarakhand HC quashes penalty imposed on PepsiCo for 'misbranding' of product
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Friday, 26 June, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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The Uttarakhand High Court has quashed a penalty of Rs. 3 lakh imposed on PepsiCo India Holdings by the State’s Food Safety department.
As per reports, the fine, originally levied in 2018, stemmed from an inquiry initiated in 2015 by a Food Safety Officer in the Pauri Garhwal district regarding the alleged “misbranding” of a product, Lehar Bhujia, which featured the label “Maha Value.”
Following an analysis, officials flagged the product as “misbranded” under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006. Based on this report, an adjudicating officer imposed a fine of Rs. 1.5 lakh each on PepsiCo and its manufacturing partner, a decision that was later upheld by the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal in 2024.
Upon reviewing the case, the High Court observed that the fine had been imposed by merely citing the FSS Act and its relevant sections without substantiating how the term “Maha Value” could actually mislead consumers. The court stated that a product cannot be declared “misbranded” without concrete reasoning and scientific analysis.
Furthermore, the High Court accepted PepsiCo’s submission that the term “Maha Value” referred to the quantity of the pack rather than the quality of the product. The court noted that such labelling is more aligned with the Legal Metrology Act than the FSS Act.
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