Harbhajan sends notice to Mallya's UB Spirits over Dhoni ad

India's ace spinner Harbhajan Singh has served a legal notice on Vijay Mallya-owned UB Spirits over a television advertisement that shows Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni "mocking" at 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.

While sending the notice for ad spoof, the off-spinner's mother Avtar Kaur said these kind of advertisements bring "disunity and friction" in the Indian team and can be termed anti-national.

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.

"My client is serving you with the instant notice to give you an opportunity to accept your mistake and make amends. Failing this, we will have no other alternative than to take appropriate legal action including that of filing proceedings for defamation, damages and all such civil as well as criminal
actions," the notice, signed by lawyer Shyam Dewani, said.

Apart from Mallya, the notice has been sent to UB Executive Vice Chairman SR Gupte, President & CFO Ravi Nedungadi, Deputy President Harish Bhat and Executive VP (Corporate Affairs) Nandini Verma. It also seeks a compensation of Rs 1,00,000 to the cricketer's family towards the cost of the notice.