SC suggests creation of centralised dashboard for misleading ads complaints

Asks Ministry of Consumer Affairs explain why complaints on its portal is 'abysmally low'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the government to consider setting up a centralised dashboard to publicise and track the progress of complaints filed against misleading advertisements on medicinal or allied healthcare products.

“We are of the opinion that the Ministry of AYUSH shall set up a dashboard citing complaints received from stakeholders and also the state licensing authorities so that data is in the public domain. This will also address the issue that prosecution under Drugs and Cosmetics Act is hit by unavailability of complaints etc.,” a Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta said. 

The court made the suggestion after hearing the amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the case, noting that there were several hurdles to monitor the progress of such complaints, particularly when such complaints are forwarded by state licensing authorities from one State to another.

This is a roadblock for prosecutions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 as there is no data readily available on action taken on such complaints, the court was told. 

Amicus Curiae Shadan Farasat also told the court that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the consumer affairs ministry (MCA) and the Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) ended in 2020. As a result of this, the number of complaints by consumers came down from 2,573 to 132. Out of 132, 116 were resolved. 

The court said that the complaints were “abysmally low” and asked the Ministry to have a relook. 

“One way or another, you have to have a portal where consumers can lodge their complaints and action is taken,” Justice Kohli remarked. 

After the MoU came to an end, National Consumer Helpline Portal and the Grievances Against Misleading Advertisements (GAMA) portal were integrated with this portal under the MCA. 

The Ministry should apprise the court on the number of complaints on this portal and the extent of satisfied resolution of the complaints, the court said. 

The bench expressed that such a reduction was 'telling' about the poor manner in which the Consumer Affairs Ministry has publicised its grievance redressal portal to the public.

After the Consumer Ministry sought more time to file a reply, the court allowed it to file an affidavit in two weeks.

The court was hearing a plea by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) against Patanjali Ayurved over misleading advertisements.

The scope of the case has now expanded beyond the lapses by Patanjali, as even celebrity and influencers find themselves in a soup for endorsing misleading ads, unethical practices in modern medicine.