The central government responded to a contempt petition by issuing notices to actors Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn concerning their tobacco company advertisements, as per a report by PTI on Saturday.
In continuation of the report, the Centre's counsel informed the High Court on Friday that the same issue was also being heard by the Supreme Court and as such the instant petition should be dismissed. After the update, the court scheduled the next hearing for 9 May 2024.
Moreover, Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan's bench had previously directed the central government to address the petitioner's concerns. The petitioner had urged action against award-winning actors and dignitaries endorsing gutka companies. Despite the petitioner's representation to the government, made on 22 October, no action was taken, as claimed by the petitioner.
Hearing the contempt petition, the high court had issued notice to the Cabinet Secretary of the central government.
On Friday, Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey informed the High Court that the Centre had issued show cause notices to Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn.
The court was also informed that Amitabh Bachchan had sent a legal notice to a gutka company, which was showing his advertisement despite the fact that he had already cancelled his contract with it.
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