The makers of Vimal Elaichi on Monday approached the Delhi High Court against show-cause notices issued by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration to their brand ambassadors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff, Bar and Bench reported.The petition sought directions to quash the notices issued to the actors on August 11 in connection with an advertisement for Vimal Elaichi mouth freshener, which the food and drug agency alleged amounted to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a product banned in the state.The agency had asked the actors to provide documentary evidence showing that Vimal Elaichi is an independent product available for sale in the market. They had also been directed to immediately stop participating in or endorsing the advertisement and remove the promotional content from their social media accounts, websites and other digital platforms.The court has reserved its verdict on whether the Delhi High Court has jurisdiction to hear the matter.PB Agro, the manufacturer of Vimal Elaichi, argued that the food and drug agency’s notice was issued only to the actors and not to the company, even though the company would suffer “irreparable harm” from the action, Bar and Bench reported.It also contended that the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration had no jurisdiction to direct that the advertisement be taken off air.The company further argued that the allegation of surrogate advertising was baseless, pointing out that Vimal Pan Masala had neither been manufactured nor sold in Maharashtra since 2001, the legal news outlet reported. It added that the Supreme Court had imposed a nationwide ban on pan masala containing tobacco in 2013.Maharashtra has prohibited gutka and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine since 2012 under the Food Safety and Standards Act, with the ban renewed annually. The latest prohibition order was issued by the state food safety commissioner on July 13.The counsel appearing for the Union government argued that the petition should have been filed before the Bombay High Court, as the matter concerned the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration.Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.