Harbhajan served legal notice against McDowells Spoof Ad

India’s ace spinner Harbhajan Singh has served a legal notice to UB Spirits (owned by Vijay Mallya) for a television advertisement of McDowells that shows Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni “mocking” him. The legal notice has been sent by Avtar Kaur, Harbhajan’s mother, through his lawyers, Dewani Advocates & Consultants.

Harbhajan’s lawyers, in the legal notice, have claimed that the commercial mocks the off-spinner, his family and the Sikh community. Advocate Shyam Dewani, one of the lawyers, said that more than the cricketer, his family was upset. The notice demands that the company publicly apologise to Harbhajan’s family “through widely-read newspapers as well as television channels prominently” apart from removing the advertisement within three days of receiving the notice.

UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya said the liquor major is not looking to pull the controversial advertising campaign off air. "It was not meant to attack Harbhajan Singh personally. It was just a spoof between two brands. We have received a long-winded legal notice and our lawyers are studying it," Mallya told.