Several Bollywood Actors and Celebrities are nowadays seen endorsing Tobaccos in Advertisements from Tiger Shroff, Kapil Dev, Vijendra Sehwag to Amitabh Bacchan. Ajay Devgn, now for years has been seen in a Vimal’s Advertisement, recently joined by other two Bollywood Stars King Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) and Khiladi Kumar (Akshay Kumar). Following this, Allahabad court has issued notices to these actors regarding their involvement in commercials promoting gutka (Tobacco) companies.
On October 20, Advocate Motilal Yadav filed a petition expressing apprehensions about Bollywood celebrities and 'Padma Awardees' endorsing products potentially harmful to health.
In August 2023, the court issued notices to the Cabinet Secretary, Chief Commissioner, and the Central Consumer Protection Authority in response to a plea seeking contempt action for not complying with its September 2022 order, directing the petitioner to approach the Government of India. The Deputy Solicitor General informed Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan's bench that show cause notices were served to actors on October 20. Despite representation to the government on October 22, no action was taken, leading to the issuance of a notice to the Cabinet Secretary.
Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey notified the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad Court that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) served notices to actors Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn on October 20, urging the court to dismiss the petition as the Supreme Court is also addressing the issue.
The next hearing is scheduled for May 9, 2024.
In response to the social media backlash, the Mission Raniganj actor posted a note and stated, "These ads were filmed on 13th October, 2021. I have severed ties with the brand since publicly discontinuing the endorsement. They are permitted to legally broadcast the already filmed ads until the end of next month."
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