JAIPUR: The Rajasthan State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has stayed a Kota District Consumer Commission order directing a Forensic Science Laboratory examination of Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s signatures in a case over alleged misleading pan masala advertisements.
The state commission also issued a notice to the complainant and referred the matter to the Kota Circuit Bench of the State Consumer Commission for further hearing. The order was passed while hearing a revision petition filed by Rajshree Pan Masala.
Advocate Devesh Sharma, appearing for the revision petitioner, informed the commission that advocate Indramohan Singh had filed a complaint before the Kota District Consumer Commission, accusing Salman Khan, the brand ambassador of Rajshree Pan Masala, of promoting misleading advertisements. In response to the complaint, a reply along with a power of attorney was submitted on behalf of Salman Khan.
However, the complainant disputed the authenticity of the documents, claiming that the signatures on the reply and power of attorney were not Salman Khan’s. While objections to the maintainability of the complaint were raised by the company, the district commission, instead of deciding on those objections, ordered an FSL examination of the actor’s signatures.
The original complaint, filed about a month ago, alleged that Rajshree Pan Masala and its brand ambassador were misleading consumers by advertising products under the name of saffron-infused cardamom and saffron-infused pan masala. The complainant questioned how saffron—priced at around Rs. 4 lakh per kilogram—could be used in a product sold for Rs. 5 per pouch.
The complaint further alleged that such advertisements mislead the public, particularly youth, and encourage the consumption of pan masala, which can cause serious health issues, including cancer. A ban on the allegedly misleading advertisements was sought.
Challenging the district commission’s order, the revision petitioner argued that Salman Khan was endorsing cardamom, not pan masala. It was also submitted that the complainant had earlier filed a similar complaint against another brand, Vimal, whose advertisement also featured cardamom, but later withdrew that complaint.
The revision petition further stated that objections had already been filed before the district commission, and that the order directing an FSL examination was unnecessary and premature. It was argued that to avoid prolonged and unnecessary litigation, an agreement had been reached between Rajshree Pan Masala and Salman Khan, making the company an aggrieved party by the district commission’s order.
On these grounds, the state consumer commission stayed the FSL examination order and transferred the matter to the Kota Circuit Bench for further proceedings.