‘Fair and Handsome’ lands in court, leaves Emami with Rs 15 lakh fine. Here’s the story of a 12-year-long battle

An aggrieved Nikhil then decided to take the parent company, Emami, to the consumer court in 2013. What followed was a long legal battle that saw multiple appeals being filed by either side.

Finally, after 11 years, a consumer commission in Delhi Monday directed Emami Limited to pay Rs 15 lakh in damages for its “misleading” claims about ‘Fair and Handsome’.

In the order, the consumer commission said, “… crystal clear that the OP (Emami) is offering the product — Fair and Handsome cream — with few, negligible and limited instructions on the packaging and labeling that its regular use for three weeks will result in fairness in the skin of a man, despite knowing that instructions mentioned are incomplete… and it will not give the result claimed…”

Taking into account the company’s market size, the commission said the damages should be to the extent that they “pinch” Emami. It has ordered the firm to pay Rs 14.5 lakh to the Delhi State Consumer Welfare Fund, and Rs 50,000 as compensation to Jain as well as Rs 10,000 as litigation costs.

This was the second time Emami was fined in the same case. In 2015, the same Consumer Commission ruled in favour of the complainant and Emami was directed to pay a fine of Rs 15 lakh. That order was, however, set aside after an appeal. The ruling issued on Monday followed the case being sent back to the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (Central District) for a fresh hearing.

In his complaint, Nikhil, represented by his brother, advocate Paras Jain, said the instructions on the packaging of Emami’s Fair and Handsome cream were to “apply on face and neck twice daily after cleansing for faster glowing fairness… regular usage recommended for the best results”. He said that despite rigorously following all the instructions mentioned on the packaging of the cream, he did not see any encouraging results, even as the company promised that “fairness can be achieved in three weeks”.

“Looking at Shah Rukh Khan’s advertisements, I was compelled to buy the cream. I was sold by the promise that looking fair would mean looking handsome,” said Nikhil.

Before the Commission, Emami argued that its product was backed by scientific research and manufactured under strict quality controls. It also said getting the desired results from the use of the cream depended on other factors — proper nutritious diet, exercise, healthy habits, and hygienic living conditions.

However, the Consumer Commission rejected Emami’s arguments and noted that the packaging and advertisements of Fair and Handsome were misleading since the other conditions required to achieve the promised results were not mentioned. “… How will it result in the fairness in skin by just following the tips mentioned on the package, which are not complete instructions? It will not bring the results. The OP (Emami) cannot blame the complainant by alleging that instructions were not followed,” the commission noted in its order.

“A reasonable/average intelligent customer will also take the convincing impression that by following those exclusive instructions mentioned on the package, it would give the results claimed on the product,” it added.

Recalling the 11-year legal journey, Paras said his brother had been using the cream for a long time. “And not getting the desired results caused him immense mental trauma.”

Nikhil added, “I think there is a lot of external pressure to look a certain way. Advertisements like this always create a mental pressure on society to look fair.”

In 2017, the brothers also moved an application before a district consumer forum for cross-examination of Shah Rukh Khan (the brand ambassador of the product). “Unfortunately, our application was dismissed by the District Forum, State Commission, and National Commission… but we didn’t give up,” said Paras.

For Nikhil, there is some relief now. “I think the pressure to look fair reduced for me when I won this case back in 2015,” he said. “It made me think that people will now understand and know the reality of such products…”