Ajay Devgn has challenged the Maharashtra FDA show-cause notice in the Bombay High Court.
Devgn has argued that the agency acted arbitrarily by targeting him as an actor rather than the manufacturing company.
FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said proceedings against Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger Shroff were complete.
Ajay Devgn has approached the Bombay High Court to challenge a show-cause notice issued by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over his role in Vimal Elaichi advertisements, calling the move arbitrary, PTI reported.
What does the FDA notice say?
The notice says the campaign amounts to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a chewable product banned in Maharashtra.
The case adds to scrutiny of celebrity endorsements linked to products that regulators allege are promoted through surrogate advertising. The FDA has also sent similar notices to Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger Shroff, who appeared in the same campaign.
Ajay Devgn's plea
Devgn’s plea argues that the notice wrongly targeted him as an actor instead of the company that makes the product. The High Court challenge turns on which party should answer for the campaign.
A division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna is expected to hear Devgn's petition on November 4.
FDA-Vimal ad row
The FDA said the campaign promoted a banned pan masala product by proxy. It also alleged that the brand was tied to gutkha and pan masala sales, both barred in Maharashtra.
Similar notices were also issued to Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger Shroff. All three actors had appeared in the advertisements that drew the regulator's attention.
The notices sought an explanation from Khan, Devgn and Shroff on their roles as brand endorsers.
What FDA said about Ajay Devgn's plea
The FDA says its probe is finished. On Friday, October 30, 2026, FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said proceedings against Khan, Devgn and Shroff for alleged breaches of State rules were complete.
Mundhe said the probe was over and the actors had breached state rules. He added that the case would go for adjudication next week.
The commissioner also said the department would continue its case before the joint commissioner even after Devgn moved the High Court.
