Amazon Hit with ₹1 Lakh Penalty Over Temple-Branded Sweets
Indiadailyupdate.com – The Central Consumer Protection Authority imposed a ₹1 lakh monetary penalty on Amazon after determining that the e-commerce giant ran manipulative advertisements enabling the sale of ordinary confectionery items marketed under the name “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad.” The order was issued on August 4 by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare alongside Commissioner Anupam Mishra, who noted that the sweets vendor had pocketed more than ₹25 lakh from sales of the disputed items.
Origin of the Complaint
The matter reached the CCPA in January 2024 when the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) lodged a formal complaint alleging dishonest trade practices. The traders’ association argued that commercially manufactured sweets were being presented to buyers under a misleading temple-associated label, effectively exploiting devotees for profit.
What Made the Listings Misleading
Per Bar and Bench reporting, the CCPA observed that most devotees would interpret the phrase “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad” as sacred food offered to and blessed by the deity at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The products in question were promoted as exclusive temple offerings. Among them were Raghupati Ghee Ladoo Khoya Khobi Ladoo, Ghee Bundi Ladoo, and Desi Cow Milk Peda. Packaging and promotional material featured religious imagery and slogans invoking the deity, while the ingredient listing on every item simply read “Ram Mandir Prasad.”
Amazon’s Defence and the Regulator’s Rebuttal
In its response, Amazon stated that it had removed the contested products from its site and maintained that it functioned solely as a marketplace intermediary, playing no part in listing, pricing, describing, or selling the goods. The CCPA rejected this position, ruling that the platform could not invoke the safe-harbour protection afforded to intermediaries under Section 79 of the IT Act because it bore responsibility for publishing the misleading advertisements tied to the product listings.
The authority further pointed out that it had sent a show-cause notice to Amazon just three days before the Ram Mandir inauguration on January 19, 2024, specifically flagging consumer vulnerability. Given that the company operated automated monitoring systems, the CCPA held that Amazon could not plausibly claim ignorance about the sensitivity of labelling products with “Shri Ram Mandir” during that period.
“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 the CP Act but an affront to the religious sentiments of crores of consumers.”
Directives Issued to the Platform
Amazon was directed to ensure that no item falsely presenting itself as a religious offering linked to any religious institution remains available or advertised on its website absent verifiable proof of authorisation. Additionally, the platform was ordered to display full seller particulars on every listing, including the seller’s name, address, customer-care number, and grievance-officer contact information.
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