Delhi court stays action against pan masala company

New Delhi: In a relief to a pan masala company, a Delhi court has stayed a notice sent to it by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) for allegedly indulging in surrogate or indirect advertisement of tobacco products in violation of the law.

While allowing the company to carry out its advertisement campaign, Additional Sessions Judge Rajinder Singh said that even though the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (COTPA) Act prohibits display, advertisement, and sale of tobacco products, there is no specific prohibition regarding surrogate advertising.

The judge said that the sale of gutka is banned and in such circumstances, there is no

reason for the company to indulge in a surrogate advertisement for the promotion of a product which it cannot sell in the country.

The DGHS claimed that in 2005, rules were laid down to ban the advertisement of tobacco products but the company carried out a surrogate ad campaign whereby the product 'Dilbagh Pan Masala' was advertised to promote tobacco products under the brand name 'Dilbagh'.

The directorate had issued a notice to the company on April 25, 2018, saying that it had put up a hoarding containing the indirect advertisement as brand promotion of tobacco products at Delhi's Dabri Flyover in 2018 to attract youngsters to trap them in tobacco habit, which is in violation of the COTP Act.

The health department said that 'Dilbagh' is a registered trademark for various tobacco products. This trademark is also registered for chewing tobacco, zarda, etc, it stated, adding that the brand name of a tobacco product cannot be used for other products.

The company engaged in the business of selling pan masala of the brand name 'Dilbagh', however, said that the advertisement is not in violation of any law.