 "Centre sends legal notice to Ajay, Shahrukh and Akshay")
Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey informed the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has served legal notices to actors Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan for endorsing tobacco companies on October 20, 2023.
The notice was sent to these actors due to their involvement in advertisements for gutka companies.
The government took this action in response to a contempt petition that was filed urging action against these celebrities.
The petitioner argued that despite being recipients of high-profile awards, these actors have been promoting products harmful to public health.
After listening to the petitioner, Motilal Yadav, the High Court instructed the government to take action on the petitioner's concerns. Despite the representation made on October 22, there was initially no action that had been taken, which led to the filing of a contempt petition.
In response to the petitioner's request, Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandy said in court proceedings on December 8 that the show-cause notices had been sent to the actors. The court also became aware of Amitabh Bachchan's legal action initiated against a gutka company as it continued to post his endorsement in the advertisements despite the actor having cancelled his contracts with it.
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Earlier in August 2023, the court issued notices to the Cabinet Secretary, Chief Commissioner and Central Consumer Protection Authority, seeking contempt action for non-compliance with its September 2022 order and asked the petitioner to approach the government of India.
The next hearing will take place on May 9, 2024.
What is a surrogate advertisement?
Direct gutka advertising is banned in India due to its health risks. Companies bypass this through surrogate advertising. In surrogate advertising, actors promote the brand of Ghutka under seemingly unrelated products like flavoured betel nuts.
To end this loophole, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is taking action against such companies for surrogate ads. The Allahabad High Court intervened, issuing notices for non-compliance with advertising bans, which included notable awardees.
In the same way, all three actors are involved in a surrogate advertisement where Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn promote Vimal Elaichi which is a mouth-freshner.
Although the company claims that the cardamom product, which also has saffron, is 100 per cent tobacco-free. The company urged that surrogate advertisement is not a violation of the COTPA - Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act to hire celebrities to endorse such products.
