NEW DELHI: Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a Rs 1 lakh penalty on e-commerce major Amazon for allowing misleading advertisements and listings of sweets falsely marketed as “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad” on its platform. It found there was no authorisation from Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the laddu (sweets) sold as prasad.In its order, CCPA observed that the phrase “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad” carries a specific and well-understood meaning for Hindu devotees where it denotes sacred food offered to and blessed by the deity at the Ram temple.“The commercial appropriation of this phrase for ordinary confectionery products, without any authorisation from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, constitutes not just a misleading trade practice under Consumer Protection Act but an affront to religious sentiments of crores of consumers,” the order said.The order was issued following a complaint by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in Jan 2024. The complaint alleged commercially manufactured sweets were being sold on Amazon under names suggesting that they were authentic prasad associated with the Ram temple in Ayodhya, without any authorisation, affiliation or endorsement from the temple or the trust.CCPA found four such products listed by Chandu Trading Company under Bihar Brothers brand. The products included ghee laddu, khoya laddu, ghee boondi laddu and desi cow milk peda, priced between Rs 299 and Rs 385. The listings used religious imagery and references to Lord Ram and Ayodhya, while claiming the products carried “Blessings from Shree Ram Janam Bhumi Temple, Ayodhya”. The ingredient description on the listings also referred to the contents as “Ram Mandir Prasad”.The authority said the listings were particularly concerning because they were live shortly before the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple, when religious sentiment and consumer interest were at their peak.Amazon removed the listings after receiving CCPA’s show-cause notice on Jan 19, 2024, and disclosed the identity of the third-party seller. The company argued it was only a marketplace intermediary and that the seller was responsible for listing, pricing and describing the products.
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CCPA, however, held that Amazon by hosting, displaying and facilitating sale of the listings was a party to the publication of misleading advertisements under Section 21(4) of Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The authority noted sales generated through the listings amounted to Rs 25.3 lakh, from which Amazon also earned commission or marketplace fees.Amazon informed CCPA that sales from the four disputed listings generated Rs 39,802 from which it received Rs 15,165 as a service fee. It said that the Rs 25.3 lakh figure disclosed earlier represented the seller’s gross merchandise sales across all its listings.
