'They May Be Stars, but They Are Violators of the Law': Maharashtra FDA Chief on Vimal Ad Notices
Maharashtra FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe says Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff are 'violators of the law' over a Vimal Elaichi ad alleged to be surrogate promotion, and that prosecution proceedings have begun against the one actor who did not reply to the show-cause notice.
Maharashtra FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has described Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff as “violators of the law” over their Vimal Elaichi advertisement, which the department alleges amounts to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in Maharashtra.
Speaking to NDTV’s Shiv Aroor in an interview published on 18 September, Mundhe said the regulator has started adjudication and prosecution proceedings against the one actor of the three who did not respond to the show-cause notice. “According to you they may be stars, but according to me they are only advertisers in this case. So I am looking at them as violators of the law, and the law will take its own course,” he said.
The FDA’s Greater Mumbai division issued the notices on 11 August and gave the actors 15 days to respond. Two of them replied, reportedly arguing that responsibility lay with the manufacturer. Their replies will be heard by the assistant commissioner who issued the notices, Mundhe said.
Pressed on which actor had not responded, the commissioner would not name anyone. Asked directly whether Shah Rukh Khan’s team had replied, he said: “Most likely he has not responded, but I’m not too sure about it.”
Mundhe rejected the argument that endorsers bear no responsibility, pointing to advertising regulations under the Food Safety Act and the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, which he said cast a duty of due diligence on the person advertising a product.
On 14 September, the Delhi High Court dismissed a petition by Vimal Elaichi’s master licensee PB Agro LLP seeking to quash the notices, holding that it lacked territorial jurisdiction since they were issued by the FDA in Mumbai.
Sources
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