Representative image. Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
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Why it matters
Pan masala and gutkha are banned in Maharashtra, and the FDA is testing whether ads for a same-brand cardamom product can be treated as promotion of the banned item. The case also tests whether the regulator can hold the actors in an ad answerable, rather than only the company, which is the point Ajay Devgn has taken to the Bombay High Court.
The pan masala ad case against three Hindi film stars has reached its deciding stage. Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finished its inquiry into Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over their advertisements for Vimal Elaichi and found that they broke the state’s rules, FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe told reporters in Mumbai on Friday, 30 October 2026, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported. The file goes to a joint commissioner for a decision, he said.
Devgn has also gone to court. He has asked the Bombay High Court to set aside the Maharashtra FDA notice, calling it arbitrary, The Hindu reported. His petition is likely to be heard on 4 November.
What the FDA says about the Vimal Elaichi ads
The regulator’s case is that the Vimal Elaichi ads are a back door. Vimal sells pan masala, which is banned in Maharashtra along with gutkha, and Maharashtra FDA officials say Vimal Elaichi ads carrying the same brand name work as surrogate advertising for the banned product. Surrogate advertising means promoting a product that cannot be advertised by putting its brand on something else that can.
The notices went out on 11 August 2026 under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, Hindustan Times reported. They asked the three actors to stop appearing in the campaign, take the promotional material off digital platforms and explain what checks they had made before signing up. The FDA also asked for their agreements, campaign briefs and any papers showing that Vimal Elaichi is a product in its own right rather than a stand-in for Vimal Pan Masala or tobacco, the newspaper said.
The Maharashtra FDA argument leans on Section 24 of the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018. According to HT, the regulator holds that a public figure who endorses a product answers for it and cannot plead ignorance. The national food regulator has been questioning product claims too: on 21 October the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) asked Nestle India and Zydus to back up claims made for their products, as NewsPlainly reported.
“The assistant commissioner has completed the investigation and found that they violated the state’s rules in the Vimal Pan Masala advertising case,” Mundhe said, according to PTI. He said the case would be put before the joint commissioner, the competent authority, by next week.
What the actors have said in their defence
All three actors replied to Maharashtra FDA through their lawyers, HT reported. Each denied endorsing pan masala and said the ads were for cardamom. The inquiry, led by Assistant Commissioner (Food) Nasrin Mazumdar, still held them liable, the newspaper said.
The three had asked for more time before answering, Mundhe said. The reports read for this article do not carry any fresh statement from Shah Rukh Khan or Tiger Shroff after Friday’s announcement.
Devgn’s petition adds a second argument. It says the notice was wrongly aimed at him as the face of the ad, when it should have gone to the company that makes the product, The Hindu reported. He filed it on Thursday, 29 October, through advocate Parag Khandhar of the law firm DSK Legal, India Today reported.
A division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna is expected to take it up, according to The Hindu. Mundhe said the FDA’s own proceedings before the joint commissioner would carry on regardless of the court case.
How the pan masala ad case is decided
Maharashtra FDA does not take this kind of case to a criminal court. It uses adjudication: a senior officer looks at the evidence, decides whether the law was broken and can impose a money penalty. PTI described it as a quasi-judicial process that lets regulators penalise non-criminal offences without a long trial.
Here is how the steps line up, with who decides each one:
| Stage | Who handles it | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| Notice and replies | Maharashtra FDA; actors’ lawyers | Notices issued 11 August 2026; actors replied denying they endorsed pan masala |
| Investigation | Assistant Commissioner (Food) Nasrin Mazumdar | Completed; violations found, Mundhe said on 30 October |
| Adjudication | Joint commissioner of the FDA | To be referred “by next week”, per Mundhe |
| Penalty | The adjudicating officer | Up to ₹10 lakh, HT reported; nothing imposed yet |
| Court challenge | Bombay High Court | Devgn’s petition, likely to be heard on 4 November |
That ceiling applies if the joint commissioner rules against the actors, according to HT. A finding by the investigating officer is not a penalty. Until the adjudicating officer rules, no one has been fined in the pan masala ad case.
Timeline: from August notices to a November hearing
- 11 August 2026: Maharashtra FDA issues notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over the Vimal Elaichi ads (HT).
- August to October (exact dates not given in the reports): The actors seek time and reply through lawyers that they promoted cardamom, not pan masala (HT, PTI).
- Thursday, 29 October: Devgn files his petition in the Bombay High Court (India Today).
- Friday, 30 October: Mundhe says the investigation is complete and violations were found (PTI).
- Week of 2 November: The case is to go to the joint commissioner, according to Mundhe.
- 4 November: Devgn’s petition is likely to come up before the High Court, according to The Hindu and India Today.
Why the case matters beyond three film stars
The pan masala ad case tests how far a state food regulator can go after the famous faces in an ad rather than only the company behind it. That is the question Devgn has put to the High Court.
FDA officials told HT that the crackdown has already made celebrities wary of endorsing food products, chocolates included, in the run-up to Diwali. They said they would put their side to the court when the petition comes up.
For now, two tracks run side by side: the FDA’s adjudication and Devgn’s challenge. The reports read do not say whether Devgn has asked the court to pause the FDA’s proceedings. Until a ruling, the case remains a finding by an investigating officer, contested by all three actors.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Maharashtra FDA send notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff?
The FDA says their ads for Vimal Elaichi are surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala, which is banned in Maharashtra. The notices were issued on 11 August 2026, Hindustan Times reported.
What penalty can the actors face in the pan masala ad case?
Penalties of up to ₹10 lakh if the FDA's joint commissioner rules against them, according to Hindustan Times. No penalty has been imposed so far.
Why did Ajay Devgn go to the Bombay High Court?
His petition calls the FDA notice arbitrary and says it should have gone to the manufacturer, not to him as an actor, The Hindu reported. It is likely to be heard on 4 November.
What have the actors said?
All three replied through lawyers that they endorsed cardamom, not pan masala, Hindustan Times reported.