Tukaram Mundhe says Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff replied in Vimal Elaichi case, two sought hearing

Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff have responded to the show-cause notices issued by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over their appearance in a Vimal Elaichi advertisement. Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe confirmed that responses from all three actors have been received.

According to Mundhe, two of the three actors also sought a hearing in the matter. The hearings were completed on Monday, September 28, and the FDA is now proceeding with the next stage of the process. The commissioner, however, did not reveal which two actors requested the hearings.

"Regarding those notices, responses from all three have come. Two of them had asked for a hearing. Their hearing was finished yesterday, and we are proceeding further," Mundhe said, according to an ANI report cited by multiple outlets.

The notices were issued by the Maharashtra FDA on August 11 in connection with the Vimal Elaichi campaign. The regulator has alleged that the advertisement could amount to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in Maharashtra. The actors were asked to explain their involvement in the advertisement.

The development marks a change from the FDA's earlier position. Earlier this month, Mundhe had said that two of the three actors had responded while one had not, and that adjudication and prosecution proceedings had begun in the case of the actor who had not replied. He had also maintained that celebrity status would not exempt endorsers from applicable advertising regulations.

The controversy has also reached the courts. The Delhi High Court recently dismissed a petition filed by PB Agro LLP, the master licensee for Vimal Elaichi, challenging the notices issued to the three actors. The court declined to entertain the plea on grounds of territorial jurisdiction and did not rule on the merits of the company's challenge.

PB Agro LLP had argued that the actors were hired to endorse Vimal Elaichi and disputed the allegation that the campaign amounted to surrogate advertising. The company also questioned the Maharashtra FDA's jurisdiction over the matter.

With responses from all three actors now submitted and hearings completed for two of them, the Maharashtra FDA is expected to take the matter forward. No final decision or outcome against the actors has been announced so far.