Diageo is challenging an Indian government ban on McDowell's No. 1 Celebration Matured XXX Rum, arguing in court that the prohibition was imposed without due process and before the underlying labeling rules were settled. The dispute now sits within a broader regulatory sweep across India's roughly $40 billion alcohol market that has hit several long-established rum and whisky brands, including products made by Diageo, Inbrew and the maker of Old Monk, over alleged misbranding, maturation claims and the use of artificial flavoring. In an August 1 filing reviewed by Reuters, Diageo India unit United Spirits said a Maharashtra food safety officer lacked the statutory authority to impose the stop-sale order and relied on a laboratory report without following the adjudication procedure required by law. The company also argued that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, or FSSAI, began consulting the alcohol industry on flavor-labeling issues only days after the order, making the ban "premature, disproportionate and commercially prejudicial" while the regulator was still considering the standards. The Bombay High Court heard the matter on Monday, denied immediate relief, directed the federal government to respond by August 19 and clubbed the case with a similar challenge by Mohan Rocky Springwater Breweries, the producer of Old Monk Rum. That company told the court it is losing nearly Rs 1 crore a day and said the affected product has been sold for more than 50 years without consumer complaints or reported illnesses. Pressure on Diageo has also widened beyond the labeling fight: inspectors recently seized about 18,000 boxes of its liquor bottles over missing markings on recycled-plastic packaging. A separate FSSAI notice has also challenged whisky labels including claims that some products were matured in American oak casks. The next hearing is scheduled for August 24, making the case a closely watched test of how far state-level food safety enforcement can go against nationally distributed alcohol brands.