FDA to begin adjudication against Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan, Tiger Shroff over Vimal Elaichi ad within a week

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon begin adjudication proceedings against Bollywood actors Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger Shroff over a Vimal Elaichi advertisement. FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said on Friday that the process would begin within a week. The advertisement dates from 2024, and all three actors appeared in it.

The FDA's allegation is that the Vimal Elaichi advertisements are an indirect advertisement for Vimal pan masala. Pan masala is banned in Maharashtra. The department alleges that a product banned in the state is being advertised under another name.

Show-cause notices were sent to the three actors on August 11, 2026, over their participation in the 2024 Vimal Elaichi advertising campaign. The commissioner said notices were issued to all three over the advertisement and the FDA took up the matter for examination. The three then submitted their replies to the FDA, which were taken up for scrutiny.

Mundhe said the three actors replied to the notices and asked for extra time for the hearing. The FDA's Assistant Commissioner granted this time. The Assistant Commissioner is the competent authority to conduct the process. The Assistant Commissioner has now completed the hearing and concluded the proceedings at that level. The officer will, by next week at the latest, file the adjudication proceedings before the Joint Commissioner, after which they will begin.

Meanwhile, as the department moves the hearing stage forward, one of the three has sought legal relief. Mundhe said Ajay Devgn has approached the Bombay High Court, challenging the notice. The FDA chief made clear that although the petition in court is pending, the department will not halt its action. "All right, but we are moving ahead with our action," Mundhe said.

The adjudication proceedings before the Joint Commissioner will be the next formal stage in the case. The case put forward by the actors and the department's findings are expected to be examined there. Officials said the final outcome would depend on the proceedings that follow.