Journalism of Courage
Court raps Flipkart over substandard toys: ‘Admit mistake, go ahead with life’
Justice Govindaraj of the Karnataka High Court said verifying sellers’ details should be part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.
Flipkart argued that selling non-BIS-compliant toys without disclaimers does not amount to unfair trade practice.
The Karnataka High Court pulled up Flipkart on Thursday for selling toys not conforming to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms after the e-commerce company challenged a Rs 5 lakh penalty the Central Consumer Protection Authority imposed on it.
“Everybody goes on the website believing that you have done due diligence and you have verified who the seller is and the trust gets built on it. These are toys which children will use, and infants will put in their mouths. If your plastic is not that good, the impact is huge,” Justice Suraj Govindaraj said.
Senior advocate Vikram Huilgol, appearing for Flipkart, argued that the authority’s August 19 order did not accuse the company of any overt false representation and that the challenge was limited to the penalty. “The entire case is that toys sold on the platform did not have all the disclaimers. It does not amount to unfair trade practice. At most, it would be a violation of provisions under the BIS Act,” he submitted.
Justice Govindaraj said, “The penalty amount of Rs 5 lakh is a small amount for the company. You have made a mistake by selling toys. Everybody makes a mistake. Admit the mistake and go ahead with life.”
The judge also said the consumer was getting duped. “You are not selling the toys free of cost on your platform,” he said.
Justice Govindaraj further said that verifying sellers’ details should be part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.
Flipkart’s counsel said the company would pay the fine pending the disposal of the case. The authority has directed Flipkart to ensure that non-BIS-compliant toys are not listed, hosted, advertised, exhibited, or offered for sale on its platform without fully complying with applicable laws and mandatory disclosures.
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Flipkart was also directed to prominently display its contact number, email address, and grievance officer’s details on its platform.
While issuing a notice to Flipkart, the court directed the company to file an affidavit detailing how it will comply with the authority’s directions regarding toys sold on its platform.
Flipkart ‘no longer a neutral host’
In 2023, the authority took suo motu cognisance of the sale of the substandard toys on the e-commerce website. Its order noted that the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 under the Information Technology Act 2000 specify the duties and obligations of intermediaries.
The authority also said that since the company uses algorithms to tag products as “Flipkart Assured”, “best seller”, “trending”, etc, it was no longer a neutral host.
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