Seeking to make celebrities responsible for what they endorse, a Parliamentary panel on Tuesday recommended a maximum 5-year jail term and Rs 50 lakh fine for promotion of products through misleading advertisements.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution suggested stricter action to deal with cases of food adulteration. It recommended that an
FIR should be deemed to have been registered in cases of food adulteration if the law enforcement agency fails to do so within 21 days of receiving the complaint.
In its report on the Consumer Protection Bill tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the Committee was of the “firm opinion” that the code followed by Advertising Standards Council of India should get “some legal teeth” to take punitive action against violators.
It suggested that the Consumer Affairs Ministry make “stringent provisions” in the Bill to fix liability on endorsers and celebrities. The Committee recommended that first time offenders may be penalised with either a fine of Rs 10 lakh and imprisonment upto two years or both.
“…for the second time offence, a fine of Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment for five years and for subsequent offences penalties may be increased proportionately based on the value of sales volumes of such products or services,” it said.
