India’s client safety regulator has fined Amazon Rs 1 lakh for permitting sweets to be marketed on its platform as “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad” with out proof that they’d been authorised by the belief managing the temple.

The Central Client Safety Authority (CCPA), in an order dated 4 August 2026, discovered that 4 commercially manufactured candy merchandise had been introduced in a manner that might lead customers to consider they have been sacred choices related to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The merchandise have been listed by Patna-based Chandu Buying and selling Firm underneath the Bihar Brothers model and included Raghupati ghee ladoo, khoya khobi ladoo, ghee boondi ladoo and desi cow milk peda.

All 4 have been bought in 250g packs, with costs starting from Rs 299 to Rs 385.

Their titles used descriptions together with “Sri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad” and “Ayodhya Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad”. The listings additionally used spiritual imagery and references to Lord Ram and Ayodhya, and included the declare: “Blessings from Shree Ram Janam Bhumi Temple, Ayodhya.”

The CCPA stated the ingredient data additionally described the merchandise as “Ram Mandir Prasad”, which it discovered to be a deceptive and non-factual description of their precise contents.

No proof was produced exhibiting that the merchandise had been authorised, affiliated with or endorsed by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Belief.

The authority stated the time period “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad” had a particular which means for Hindu devotees, referring to sacred meals provided to and blessed by the deity on the temple.

“The business appropriation of this phrase for atypical confectionery merchandise, with none authorization from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Belief, constitutes not only a deceptive commerce observe underneath the CP Act however an affront to the spiritual sentiments of crores of customers,” the order said.

The case adopted a illustration by the Confederation of All India Merchants in January 2024 alleging misleading commerce practices involving sweets bought underneath the title of Ram Mandir prasad.

The CCPA issued a show-cause discover to Amazon Vendor Companies on 19 January 2024, three days earlier than the Pran Pratishtha, or consecration, ceremony on the temple on 22 January.

The regulator stated the timing was vital as a result of spiritual curiosity surrounding the temple was significantly excessive, whereas devotees who couldn’t journey to Ayodhya have been in search of methods to acquire prasad on-line.

It additionally stated customers may place substantial belief in a serious e-commerce platform somewhat than analyzing the identification of each particular person vendor, giving listings on such platforms an added look of legitimacy.

Amazon eliminated the 4 merchandise after receiving the discover and supplied the vendor’s particulars to the CCPA.

Amazon’s middleman defence rejected

Amazon argued in the course of the proceedings that it operated as a market middleman and didn’t create product listings, set their costs or write their descriptions, which have been the duty of third-party sellers.

It relied on Part 79 of the Data Know-how Act and the Supreme Court docket’s judgment in Shreya Singhal v Union of India in arguing that intermediaries weren’t usually required to pre-screen third-party content material.

Amazon additionally stated sellers have been contractually required underneath its Enterprise Options Settlement to adjust to relevant legal guidelines.

The CCPA rejected the argument that Amazon’s middleman standing allowed it to keep away from obligations underneath the Client Safety (E-Commerce) Guidelines, 2020.

It stated the Data Know-how Act and the patron safety framework operated on distinct authorized planes and that protections accessible to an middleman couldn’t displace duties imposed on a market underneath client legislation.

The authority stated market entities had “affirmative, proactive, and steady” obligations underneath the E-Commerce Guidelines and couldn’t rely solely on motion taken after a criticism or court docket order.

It additionally stated statutory tasks couldn’t be transferred to third-party sellers by personal contracts.

The CCPA raised considerations about how vendor data was displayed on Amazon, discovering that making particulars accessible by a hyperlink didn’t quantity to sufficiently clear and accessible disclosure.

It additionally questioned a grievance mechanism that required customers to log into an Amazon account earlier than accessing sure data.

Amazon’s monitoring programs questioned

The regulator additionally examined Amazon’s declare that it used automated monitoring programs and machine-learning instruments to establish prohibited listings.

It famous that merchandise explicitly utilizing the title of the Ram temple of their titles had remained accessible with out proactive detection.

The CCPA stated this indicated that the related safeguards have been both non-functional, insufficient or had not been utilized to listings of a non secular nature.

It stated a platform with Amazon’s scale and technological capabilities ought to deploy monitoring programs commensurate with the sensitivity of the fabric being hosted and the potential hurt to customers.

Amazon advised the CCPA that the 4 disputed listings had generated gross sales of Rs 39,802.29 and that it had obtained Rs 15,165.90 in service charges from them.

The corporate additionally clarified in the course of the proceedings {that a} a lot bigger gross merchandise gross sales determine supplied earlier associated to the vendor’s wider exercise on the platform somewhat than the 4 disputed listings alone.

New checks for spiritual choices

Amazon proposed a structured due-diligence framework in Could 2026 to take care of merchandise marketed as spiritual choices.

The CCPA has directed the corporate to implement and strengthen that framework.

Beneath the system, merchandise claiming to be “prasad”, “prasadam”, “mahaprasad”, “bhog” or related spiritual choices linked to 10 named spiritual establishments should not be listed with out verifiable documentary proof of authorisation from the related establishment.

The establishments lined are Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Shri Jagannath Temple, Shri Kedarnath Temple, Shri Badrinath Temple, Shri Somnath Temple, Shri Dwarkadhish Temple and Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple.

Amazon has additionally been directed to make sure that required vendor data, together with the vendor’s title, deal with, buyer care particulars and grievance officer data, is displayed clearly and accessibly in accordance with the E-Commerce Guidelines.

The CCPA imposed the Rs 1 lakh penalty underneath Part 21(4) of the Client Safety Act, 2019, after discovering that Amazon, by internet hosting, displaying and facilitating the disputed listings, was a celebration to the publication of deceptive ads.

In deciding the quantity, the authority stated it was making an allowance for that this was Amazon’s first contravention in proceedings earlier than the CCPA “in relation to such issues”. It warned {that a} recurrence may result in considerably extra stringent motion.

Amazon was directed to deposit the penalty inside 15 days of the order.

The authority stated it may overview Amazon’s compliance with the framework and assess its effectiveness after three to 4 months.

Chandu Buying and selling Firm didn’t reply to repeated notices in the course of the proceedings. The CCPA stated the case towards the vendor could be handled individually in accordance with the legislation.