'May Be Stars. To Me, They're Violators Of Law': Tukaram Mundhe On Actors In Surrogate Ads

Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, who's been making waves lately with regulatory action, has said that actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff, who were served show-cause notices over a Vimal Elaichi advertisement, are "violators of the law".

The FDA has started adjudication and prosecution proceedings against one actor who has not replied, he told NDTV's Shiv Aroor in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

"According to you they may be stars, but according to me they are only advertisers in this case. So I am looking at them as violators of the law, and the law will take its own course. That's why we have started taking action," Mundhe said.

The FDA's Greater Mumbai division issued the notices on August 11, alleging that the advertisement amounted to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in Maharashtra. They were given 15 days to respond.

"We have taken this action as per the law," Mundhe said, adding that two of the three actors had responded to the notices and one had not, not sharing a breakdown by names. "In one case where they have not responded, we are starting the adjudicating and prosecution proceedings," he said. The two who replied argued that the responsibility lay with the manufacturer, Mundhe said. "We are giving them a hearing. My officer, the assistant commissioner who issued the notices, will be giving the hearing,".

Pressed on which actors had responded, Mundhe said, "I exactly don't remember... because that is with the assistant commissioner." Asked if Shah Rukh Khan's team had responded, Mundhe said, "Most likely he has not responded, but I'm not too sure about it."

Mundhe rejected the argument that endorsers bear no responsibility when a manufacturer makes the product. "There are clearly advertising regulations as per the Food Safety Act. [The regulations] talk about who the advertiser is, and there is a responsibility very specifically cast upon the person or institution who is advertising," he asserted, referring also to the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018.

"There is a responsibility cast upon the person who is advertising it, including to take due diligence about what he or she is endorsing," he added. "To say that it is not upon them is wrong... Not only morally, but legally I'm talking about, because I am here as a regulator."

On September 14, the Delhi High Court dismissed a petition by PB Agro LLP, the master licensee for Vimal Elaichi, which sought to quash the notices issued to the three actors. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that the court lacked territorial jurisdiction because the notices were issued by the FDA in Mumbai. The order said courts in Maharashtra were the more appropriate forum for the challenge.

In other issues addressed in the NDTV interview, Mundhe said the FDA had asked the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to examine markups of 150-2,800 per cent on hospital consumables. He cited intravenous sets procured for Rs 11 but carrying an MRP of Rs 325, an issue he flagged in a letter to the central authority earlier this week.

He said trade pricing regulation needs to address the issue. "That's where transparency needs to come in, and that's why, on this, we have reported to the NPPA, which looks into this issue. Maybe it needs to consult all the stakeholders and whether it can be brought under the Drug Control Price Order, which is under the Essential Commodities Act."

On who's responsible, he said the NPPA must look into that: "There is a gap. Whether it can be termed as a systemic exploitation or not."