Ajay Devgn has filed a petition with the Bombay High Court, challenging a show‑cause notice issued by Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration earlier this month over his appearance in Vimal Elaichi advertisements.
The FDA alleges the ads amount to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a chewable product banned in Maharashtra, and claims the brand is linked to the sale of gutkha and other prohibited pan‑masala items.
Similar notices were issued to Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger Shroff, and the agency’s investigation found violations by all three actors.
Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said the investigations are complete, violations have been documented, and the matter will be referred for adjudication next week.
The case is slated to be heard on November 4 by a division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna, who will decide whether the FDA’s surrogate‑promotion claim holds up.
If the court sides with Devgn, it could set a precedent limiting the FDA’s power to target individual endorsers, while a ruling against him would reinforce the state’s strict stance against pan‑masala promotion.