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Delhi High Court — vendor challenge to the ENDS advisory (2019)

Delhi High Court, Delhi · Status: Disposed

Sellers of ENDS products, joined by an individual consumer, challenged a central government advisory instructing states to prohibit ENDS manufacture, sale and distribution under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act. The court granted an interim stay, finding ENDS did not meet the statutory definition of a "drug" the government could regulate that way — a ruling other sellers elsewhere in India later relied on.

Outcome: An interim stay was granted and upheld on appeal; effectively concluded once the national ban under PECA, 2019 superseded the underlying advisory.

Shortened at the site owner’s request: court and year only, no case numbers.

This is a seller-brought case, clearly distinct from AVI: it was filed, argued and funded by the vendors and the individual consumer named as petitioners, not by AVI. AVI is a consumer advocacy organisation and does not fund, file, or direct litigation on behalf of vendors or manufacturers — doing so would blur the line between consumer advocacy and industry action. Where this case drew on research or legal arguments AVI has separately developed and published, that reflects publicly available analysis, not coordination between AVI and the litigants.