Top IAS Officer Shocks Bollywood Bigwigs With Notices

Senior bureaucrat and IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe, who became the toast of the media and the public for his zero tolerance approach towards public safety in food outlets across Maharashtra in the capacity of FDA Chief, has once again made headlines for bringing Bollywood actors under the scrutiny.

As per reports, the Maharashtra state FDA has served a formal show-cause notice to popular actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff over their recent advertisement for Vimal Elaichi, a cardamom product sold by a famous tobacco brand.
The reason for these notices is because the pros acts as a substitute campaign to promote pan masala, a product currently banned across Maharashtra to protect public health.

In the nine-page official notice, the FDA instructed all three actors to step away from the campaign right away and remove every related post from their social media pages. They have been given 15 days to explain their stance and submit copies of their brand contracts, payment details, and proof of due diligence.

As per Consumer Protection Act 2019, promoting misleading products can lead to heavy financial penalties between 10 lakh and 50 lakh rupees, along with a potential three-year ban on doing any new brand endorsements.

Previously, Akshay Kumar faced severe criticism for endorsing a Vimal product. He later publicly apologized to his fans, announced his decision to step down from the contract, and pledged to donate his entire earnings from the campaign to charity.

It remains to be seen how Bollywood reacts this time over the controversy.