Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff have come under scrutiny over a Vimal Elaichi advertisement, with Maharashtra FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe calling them “violators of the law”.
Mundhe also said the FDA has initiated prosecution proceedings against one of the actors for allegedly failing to 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. That’s why we have started taking action. We have taken this action as per the law,” Mundhe was quoted as saying by NDTV.
According to Mundhe, one of the three actors is yet to respond to the notice, prompting the FDA to initiate adjudication and prosecution proceedings against him.
When asked whether Shah Rukh Khan had responded to the notice, Mundhe said, “I exactly don’t remember… because that is with the assistant commissioner. Most likely he has not responded, but I’m not too sure about it.”
However, Mundhe said the FDA would hear the responses submitted by the two actors who have replied to the notices.
He also dismissed the contention that liability lies with the manufacturer rather than the person endorsing the product.
Citing advertising provisions under the Food Safety Act, Mundhe said the law specifically assigns responsibility to the person or institution promoting the product.
Mundhe stressed that advertisers have a responsibility to conduct due diligence before endorsing a product. He said that claiming otherwise would be wrong “not only morally, but also legally.”
For the unversed, the FDA issued the notices on August 11, alleging that the Vimal Elaichi advertisement featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff amounted to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in Maharashtra. The actors were given 15 days to respond.
The notice cited Section 24 of the FSS Act, which restricts misleading advertisements, and Section 53, under which a person who publishes or is party to the publication of a misleading food advertisement can face a penalty of up to ₹10 lakh.