The central consumer protection authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of ₹1 lakh on Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd (Amazon India) for allowing ordinary sweets to be marketed on its platform as 'Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad' without authorisation from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
In an order earlier this month, CCPA chief commissioner Nidhi Khare and commissioner Anupam Mishra said, "The Authority, while noting the cooperative approach adopted by the opposite party (Amazon India) during the later stages of proceedings and its willingness to implement a structured compliance framework, is constrained to observe that such cooperation cannot entirely efface the gravity of the conduct that gave rise to the present proceedings. Amazon India is one of the largest e-commerce marketplaces operating in India, with an extensive user base spanning hundreds of millions of consumers. The scale and reach of the platform is precisely what amplifies the harm a deceptive listing on this platform carries an inherent legitimacy in the eyes of an average consumer by virtue of the platform's size, visibility, and market dominance."
The complaint was filed by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in January 2024.
The consumer regulator held that the description could lead devotees to believe that the sweets were genuine prasad associated with the Ayodhya Ram temple. It said using the temple-associated name to commercially market ordinary confectionery, without approval from the temple trust, amounted to a misleading trade practice and could hurt the religious sentiments of consumers.
Amazon India has been directed to deposit the penalty within 15 days.
Four Varieties of Sweets under Scrutiny
The proceedings related to four varieties of sweets offered by Chandu Trading Company under the Bihar Brothers brand — ghee ladoos, khoya ladoos, boondi ladoos and cow milk pedas.
The listings carried religious imagery and promotional claims suggesting a connection with the Ayodhya temple. They included references to 'Blessings from Shree Ram Janam Bhumi Temple, Ayodhya', while the ingredient or product description referred to the items as 'Ram Mandir Prasad'.
CCPA noted that the listings appeared shortly before the 22 January 2024, consecration ceremony at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Amazon removed the disputed listings after receiving a show-cause notice from the regulator on 19 January 2024.
According to the authority, there was no authorisation from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust supporting the products' representation as temple prasad.
CCPA therefore concluded that the presentation of ordinary sweets as a religious offering associated with the temple could mislead consumers about the nature and provenance of the products.
CCPA Rejects Amazon's Intermediary Argument
Amazon India defended itself by arguing that it was only an online marketplace and that third-party sellers were responsible for the products they listed.
The company said it did not independently create or control the product descriptions, prices or sale of the disputed sweets. It also invoked the safe-harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, which provides certain protections to intermediaries for third-party content subject to statutory conditions.
CCPA rejected this defence. The authority held that obligations under the Consumer Protection Act and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 operate separately from the intermediary provisions of the IT Act.
According to the regulator, a marketplace cannot rely on its intermediary status under the IT Act to avoid consumer-protection responsibilities while simultaneously operating a commercial platform through which products are advertised and sold.
CCPA said e-commerce marketplaces have affirmative and continuing responsibilities to protect consumers. Such statutory responsibilities cannot simply be transferred to sellers through contractual arrangements.
Amazon India Earned ₹15,165 from Disputed Listings
The proceedings also examined the financial benefit Amazon India derived from the four listings. The platform informed CCPA that the disputed products generated sales of ₹39,802, from which Amazon received ₹15,165 as a service fee.
Amazon India clarified that a previously disclosed figure of ₹25.26 lakh referred to the seller's gross merchandise sales across all of its listings and did not represent sales from the four products involved in the complaint.
The distinction was relevant to the authority's assessment of the matter and Amazon's commercial involvement in the listings.
Seller and Grievance Officer Details Were Also Inadequate
CCPA also found shortcomings in the manner in which Amazon India displayed information about the seller and grievance officer.
The authority said complete details were not displayed prominently enough for consumers. It rejected the argument that information available through hyperlinks or a messaging system requiring users to log in was sufficient to meet the applicable e-commerce requirements.
The regulator has consequently directed Amazon India to improve the prominence and accessibility of seller and grievance officer information on its platform.
Amazon Ordered To Verify ‘Prasad’ Claims
Beyond the ₹1 lakh penalty, CCPA issued directions to Amazon India aimed at preventing similar listings in the future.
Amazon India has been instructed to ensure that products described using terms such as 'prasad', 'prasadam', 'mahaprasad' or 'bhog', or comparable descriptions of religious offerings, are not listed, unless the seller can produce verifiable authorisation from the relevant religious institution.
The direction covers 10 specified religious institutions, including the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Jagannath Temple.
CCPA has also ordered Amazon India to strengthen its keyword-based monitoring and takedown mechanisms to identify and remove potentially misleading religious-product listings.
The objective is to prevent sellers from commercially using the names of religious institutions or representing ordinary products as authenticated religious offerings without supporting documentation.
Regulator Warns of Stricter Action
CCPA took Amazon's subsequent cooperation into account as a mitigating circumstance while deciding the penalty.
However, the authority made it clear that cooperation after a violation does not eliminate an e-commerce platform's responsibility to maintain effective systems for detecting misleading advertisements and product claims.
The case is significant because it goes beyond the conduct of the individual seller and examines the responsibilities of the marketplace through which the disputed products were advertised and sold.
CCPA's order establishes that an e-commerce platform may face consumer-protection consequences when it hosts and facilitates misleading product representations, even when the underlying products and claims originate with third-party sellers.
The regulator's directions also put online marketplaces on notice that claims suggesting that food products are genuine temple prasad or other authorised religious offerings will require verification rather than being treated as ordinary seller-generated descriptions.
(Case No.CCPA-2/5/2024-CCPA Date: 4 August 2026)
