Swapna Kumbar , Bengaluru - An Indian investigation has found that duty-free shops at Mumbai’s international airport, run by Gautam Adani’s business group, breached the law by selling nicotine pouches. The case centers on whether such products can be sold in airport duty-free areas without the approvals required under Indian drug and cosmetics law.

According to the report, India’s drug department inspected the shops after a complaint from an anti-nicotine group and found imported nicotine pouches being sold in the departure zone without the necessary approvals. Officials said nicotine pouches are treated as a drug, meaning a valid registration certificate and import license are mandatory. The government has already described nicotine pouches as a “new and largely unregulated public health concern,” especially given illegal sales among young adults.

Adani’s company has pushed back, arguing in court that the shops operate beyond India’s customs frontiers and therefore fall outside domestic regulatory reach. The group also told judges that nicotine pouches are not a drug and are a recent innovation not specifically covered by existing tobacco-control rules. A Mumbai court has said no coercive action should be taken on existing stock for now, and the matter is scheduled for further hearing.

The case could become an important test of how far Indian law applies inside duty-free airport spaces. It also puts fresh scrutiny on nicotine pouches, which regulators increasingly view as a public-health risk.