Delhi HC dismisses Vimal Elachi makers’ plea

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by the makers of Vimal Elaichi seeking to quash show-cause notices issued to its brand ambassadors — Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff — by the Maharashtra FDA for alleged misrepresentation of the product in their advertisements.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held the petition to be non-maintainable for want of territorial jurisdiction and said that courts in Maharashtra are the more appropriate and convenient forum for the petitioner to raise its grievances concerning the impugned notice, as per the doctrine of forum conveniens.

In its plea, petitioner PB Agro LLP said it engages the services of reputed actors for promotion of the cardamom product under the brand ‘Vimal’ and its endorsement agreements with them, and the company assures that the advertisement campaign is in full compliance of the applicable laws. It said regulatory notices were issued by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alleging that advertisements for Vimal Elaichi amount to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a chewable product banned within Maharashtra.

The plea said the Maharashtra FDA had directed the actors featured in Vimal Elaichi advertisements to provide documentation demonstrating that Vimal Elaichi is a product different from the banned pan masala products.

It also called for a halt on the promotional campaign and for the withdrawal of related materials from digital platforms.

The counsel representing the petitioner had argued that the August 11 FDA notice was sent only to the actors and not to the company itself, despite the fact that the company alone is going to suffer irreparably due to any action taken by the state regulator. The counsel had said the petitioner was not even provided with an opportunity to be heard.