No new step from Govt to rein in misleading ads

Keeping Tabs

♦ SC questions on why MoU with ASCI not extended after 2020

♦ ASCI used to take voluntary actions against misleading ads

♦ It ensured a quick redressal of complaints

♦ Issue of misleading ads came to the fore in last Nov

New Delhi: The central government seems reluctant to come up with a new system for lodging complaints regarding misleading advertisements. It is convinced that the existing National Consumer Helpline (www.customerhelpline.gov.in) is good enough to take care of complaints in this regard.

On July 30, the Supreme Court berated the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for its inability to deal with consumer complaints ever since the Ministry’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) expired in 2020. The ASCI is, as per its website, “an independent, voluntary self-regulatory organization, which aims to ensure advertisements in India are fair, honest and are compliant with the ASCI Code.”

The SC said: “Apart from a quick redressal of complaints, the ASCI used to take voluntary actions against misleading advertisements.”

The court was referring to a portal called GAMA (Grievance Against Misleading Advertisements) that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the ASCI ran together. It asked the Ministry as to why its MoU with the ASCI wasn’t extended beyond 2020. After the MoU’s expiry, the complaints declined steeply, the court added.

The apex court favored a more centralized system for lodging complaints regarding misleading advertisements, saying “that’s the biggest issue.” The Ministry of Consumer Affairs should take this aspect into account, it added. After consideration, officials in the Ministry have veered towards the view that there is no need to restart a collaborative portal with the ASCI. They believe that the National Consumer Helpline is good enough for the purpose, official sources told Bizz Buzz. A query from Bizz Buzz to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs over the subject did not elicit any response.

The issue of misleading advertisements came to the fore in November last year when the SC issued a strict warning to Ramdev and his companies for disparaging modern medicine. Some Patanjali ads were found to be misleading, for which the company had to apologize and withdraw some products. On August 13, the Supreme Court dismissed the contempt case against Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna in the Patanjali misleading ads case.