United Spirits Retracts High Court Plea :

United Spirits Limited (USL), a subsidiary of global beverage giant Diageo, has formally withdrawn its legal petition from the Bombay High Court after India’s food safety watchdog, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), retracted its order prohibiting the sale of select rum variants. The regulatory dispute originated after the FSSAI flagged the inclusion of added external "rum flavouring" agents in standardized rum lines—specifically targeting variants like McDowell’s No. 1 Rum produced at USL's Baramati facility—claiming the practice altered the core identity of the spirits. United Spirits initially challenged the ban on August 1, arguing that using nature-identical flavouring aligns with established industry standards and that the product presented no health concerns to consumers. The standoff reached a resolution after USL and other major liquor manufacturers agreed to comply with FSSAI guidelines by either updating their product labels or modifying the specific flavouring additives without altering the underlying liquid composition. Following the regulator's decision to rescind the ban, United Spirits informed the court that the legal challenge was no longer necessary, confirming to stock exchanges that the brief restriction caused no material financial or operational impact.