Legal Notice Issued to Celebrities Over Misleading Pan Masala Advertisement

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Jaipur has issued notices to Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff, as well as to Vimal Kumar Agarwal, chairman of JB Industries, over an allegedly misleading advertisement promoting Vimal Pan Masala. The commission has directed all parties to appear before it on March 19.

The notice, issued on March 5 by commission chairman Gyarsilal Meena and member Hemlata Agarwal, sets the hearing at 10 am. It warned that if the concerned parties fail to appear in person or through an authorized representative, the case will be decided in their absence. The actors and the pan masala manufacturer were also instructed to submit their responses within 30 days of receiving the notice.

The notice follows a complaint filed by Jaipur-based advocate Yogendra Singh Badiyal, who alleged that the advertisement claimed "daane daane mein hai kesar ka dum" ("every grain of the said pan masala has the power of saffron"). Badiyal argued that the advertisement misled the public into believing that the pan masala contained saffron, which is a highly expensive ingredient, while the product is harmful to health, potentially leading to diseases like cancer. He pointed out that the cost of saffron in the market is Rs 4 lakh per kilogram, while the pan masala costs only Rs 5, suggesting that saffron could not possibly be part of the product.

The lawyer claimed that this false advertising was luring people to buy Vimal Pan Masala under the false impression that it contained saffron, while no such ingredient was present. Badiyal demanded legal action against JB Industries and the actors for spreading false information and cheating the public. He also called for a fine to be imposed on the accused, a ban on the advertisement, and an immediate halt to the sale of the pan masala "in the interest of justice and public health."

There has been no immediate comment from the actors or JB Industries regarding the notice at the time of this report.