Delhi HC rejects Vimal Elaichi maker’s plea against FDA notices to SRK, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea by Vimal Elaichi maker PB Agro LLP challenging a Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) show-cause notice issued to actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff over the alleged surrogate advertising of Vimal Pan Masala.

The court rejected PB Agro’s argument that the Delhi High Court had jurisdiction because the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is headquartered in the capital. “The mere fact that FSSAI is the apex body under the enactment, or that it is situated in Delhi, cannot alter the source or character of the show cause notice,” the judgment read.

The bench also dismissed PB Agro’s contention that Delhi was the appropriate forum because its registered office is in the city and the ad campaign was conceived, managed, and paid for from the capital. “The mere fact that the petitioner is incorporated, carries on business or maintains an office in Delhi cannot mean that every regulatory action taken against its product by an authority in another state becomes amenable to the jurisdiction of this court,” it noted.

Concluding that Maharashtra is the natural venue since the noticees reside there, the court dismissed the petition for lack of territorial jurisdiction. “The courts in Maharashtra are the natural and convenient forum for adjudication of the dispute,” the order read.

A single judge bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma had reserved the order on the matter on 7 September and focused entirely on territorial jurisdiction rather than the merits of the case.

Queries emailed to PB Agro remained unanswered at the time of publishing.

The Maharashtra FDA had issued show-cause notices to Khan, Devgn and Shroff over their appearance in the Vimal Elaichi advertisement. The regulator alleged that the campaign indirectly promotes Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in Maharashtra. The FDA has said the advertisement's presentation, dialogue, product name and the association of the Vimal brand with pan masala raise questions of surrogate advertising.

The petition, filed by PG Agro LLP, the manufacturer of Vimal Elaichi, sought quashing of the notices issued to the three actors. The manufacturer alleged that Maharashtra FDA did not have jurisdiction to direct the advertisement to be stopped.

It also been pointed out that the notices were issued to the actors, not to the company, despite the company claiming it would be directly affected by any action against the campaign.

Right jurisdiction

Meanwhile, the Centre and the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) opposed the maintainability of the plea before the Delhi High Court. It argued that the regulatory violations and the regulator's action originated in Maharashtra, making the Bombay High Court the appropriate court having the jurisdiction of the case.

It also informed the Delhi high court that it was examining some similar allegations independently, concerning the advertisement, although it had not directed the campaign to be stopped.

The food regulator had invoked Section 24 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which addresses misleading or deceptive food advertisements, and Section 53, which provides for a penalty of up to ₹10 lakh for such advertisements. The notice issued by the regulator also referred to the state’s prohibition on the manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of gutka and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine.

According to Kroll’s ranking of India’s most powerful celebrity brands for 2025 report, Shah Rukh Khan jumped to the top spot in 2025 with a brand value of $177.9 million.