Delhi High Court reserves verdict on jurisdiction in Vimal elaichi ad notices to actors
Quick Look
- The Delhi High Court has reserved its verdict on whether it has jurisdiction to hear a petition challenging show-cause notices issued by the Maharashtra FDA to actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over a chewing elaichi advertisement campaign alleged to be surrogate promotion of banned pan masala.
- The company PB Agro LLP argues the notices were issued only to brand ambassadors, not the company, and that the pan masala brand has not been sold in Maharashtra since 2001.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Maharashtra FDA issued show-cause notices to actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff alleging that their advertisement for Vimal chewing elaichi constituted surrogate promotion of pan masala, a product banned in the state. PB Agro LLP, the manufacturer of Vimal, filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging the notices on jurisdictional grounds, arguing the company was not served and that the pan masala brand has not been sold in Maharashtra since 2001.
Synopsis
The Delhi High Court has reserved its verdict on jurisdiction over notices issued to actors. These notices challenge a chewing elaichi advertisement campaign by the Maharashtra FDA. The company questioned the regulator's authority and the basis of the allegations. It argued the pan masala brand has not been sold in Maharashtra since 2001. The court heard arguments from the company, Central Government, and CCPA.
The Delhi High Court has reserved its verdict on whether it can hear a petition challenging show-cause notices issued by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration to actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over a chewing elaichi advertisement campaign.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma reserved orders on the preliminary question of jurisdiction after hearing the company, the Central Government and the Central Consumer Protection Authority. The court has not gone into the merits of the allegations.
Also read: Cardamom or pan masala? Why Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff face FDA action over Vimal ads
The petition was filed by PB Agro LLP, which makes the chewing elaichi brand the three actors endorse. It has asked the Delhi High Court to quash the notices.
What the regulator alleged
Live Events
The Maharashtra FDA has alleged that the advertisements amounted to surrogate promotion of a pan masala brand, a chewable product banned in the state.
According to the report, the regulator asked the actors to produce documents establishing that the chewing elaichi was distinct from banned pan masala products. It also sought a halt to the campaign and the removal of related material from digital platforms.
The company's argument
Senior advocates Dayan Krishnan and Mohit Mathur, appearing for PB Agro, said the show-cause notice dated August 11, 2026 was issued only to the brand ambassadors and not to the company, even though the company is directly affected by any action against the campaign.
PB Agro also questioned the Maharashtra FDA's jurisdiction to order the advertisements discontinued. It said the surrogate advertising allegation had no basis, arguing that the pan masala brand in question has not been manufactured or sold in Maharashtra since 2001.
The company further submitted that pan masala containing tobacco was already barred nationwide following a Supreme Court ruling in 2013. It told the court that the CCPA was separately examining similar allegations but had not issued any direction against the campaign.
Advocate Rukhmini Bobde, for the Central Government and the CCPA, opposed the maintainability of the petition in Delhi, arguing that a challenge to a Maharashtra FDA notice belongs before the Bombay High Court.
She said the Maharashtra government, which issued the notice, was not before the Delhi High Court to defend it. Bobde also said the CCPA had no objection to the Maharashtra FDA's notice, even as it ran its own proceedings on similar allegations.
Justice Sharma reserved her order after hearing both sides.
(With inputs from ANI)
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The Delhi High Court will rule on whether it has jurisdiction to hear the petition challenging the Maharashtra FDA's notices
Very likely · Within weeks
If the Delhi High Court finds it lacks jurisdiction, PB Agro LLP will file a similar petition in the Bombay High Court
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Whether the Delhi High Court will accept jurisdiction over the matter
- If the court rejects jurisdiction, whether PB Agro will refile in the Bombay High Court
- Whether the Maharashtra FDA will proceed with enforcement of the notices regardless of the court's decision
- If the CCPA's separate examination of similar allegations will lead to any action against the campaign
