The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea by Vimal Elaichi makers challenging show-cause notices issued by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to brand ambassadors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over alleged surrogate promotion of pan masala.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that the petition was not maintainable for lack of territorial jurisdiction and said courts in Maharashtra would be the more appropriate and convenient forum for the petitioner to raise its grievances against the notices.
The court relied on the doctrine of forum conveniens, under which a matter may be heard by the court that is best placed to adjudicate it.
PB Agro LLP, which manufactures Vimal Elaichi, had approached the high court seeking quashing of the August 11 notices issued by the Maharashtra FDA to the three actors.
The company said it engages reputed actors to promote its cardamom product under the Vimal brand and that its endorsement agreements require the promotional campaigns to comply with applicable laws.
According to the plea, the FDA alleged that advertisements for Vimal Elaichi amounted to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a chewable product banned in Maharashtra.
The regulator had directed the actors to furnish documents showing that Vimal Elaichi was distinct from the banned pan masala products. It had also sought a halt to the promotional campaign and removal of related material from digital platforms.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the August 11 notice was issued only to the actors and not to the company, despite the company being the entity that would suffer any adverse consequences of regulatory action.
The counsel also submitted that the company had not been given an opportunity to be heard.
(With inputs from PTI)
