Consumer fora have wide powers to discipline errant manufacturers, traders and service providers. In some cases the company may be asked to do social service.
Consumer fora have wide powers to discipline errant manufacturers, traders and service providers.
In some cases the company may be asked to do social service like in the landmark case of United Breweries Ltd versus Mumbai Grahak Panchayat passed by the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission.
‘Surrogate advertising’ (advertisement with double meanings) is the order of the day. United Breweries had been carrying out an advertising campaign of Bagpiper Soda, London Pilsner Soda and Derby Special Soda.
It is well-known that United Breweries also has alcoholic drinks with the same name. Volunteers of the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat found that there was no Bagpiper or Pilsner soda available in the market.
The complainants approached railway authorities to remove the obnoxious advertisements but failed to get a positive response.
The Panchayat approached the state consumer commission at Mumbai to restrain United Breweries from publishing the ads and the railways from carrying them on their trains.
The railways informed the commission that they had removed the ads from the coaches on receiving the commission’s notice.
The Advertising Standards Council of India had found the ads to be misleading, with ‘soda’ in some cases in fine print and the commercial names of the products in a bigger size.
The council also held that advertising of alcohol-containing products was in violation of Chapter III.6 of the advertisement code.
The Maharashtra State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission then ordered that United Breweries and railways carry ads on trains which said ‘Keep Liquor away from Young Generation’, ‘India’s No 1 - only Natural Fruit Drink’ and ‘Limbu Pani, Nariyal Pani, Yehi hai apna alag andaaz’.
United Breweries took the matter to the national commission in Delhi. The Commission upheld the state chapter’s order. It ordered United Breweries to carry such ads on trains for 3 months in lieu of the one week ordered by the lower court.
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