Mohammad Anas, Research Scholar, Department of Law (Aligarh Muslim University)
ABSTRACT
Advertising is an essential element of modern commerce, significantly influencing consumer behaviour across multiple platforms, including television, radio, print media, billboards, social media, and online channels.
While advertising serves as a vital communication tool for businesses to inform and persuade consumers, it also has a darker facet—misleading advertisements.
These deceptive promotional tactics interfere with consumers’ ability to make informed choices by presenting false, exaggerated, or incomplete information.
Misleading advertisements employ various strategies, such as exaggerated claims, visual manipulation, and omission of critical facts, which can lead consumers to make ill-informed purchasing decisions.
The legal landscape surrounding misleading advertisements in India reflects a complex balance between protecting consumer rights and upholding the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech.
Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression, which extends to commercial speech, as recognised in Indian Express Newspaper v. Union of India (1984 SC) and Tata Press Ltd. v. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (1995 SC).
However, this freedom is not absolute, misleading and deceptive advertisements fall outside the protection of Article 19.
Judicial precedents, such as the Hindustan Unilever Limited v. Sebamed (2022 Bom. HC) highlights the judiciary’s proactive role in addressing the ethical and legal challenges posed by misleading advertisements.
The Bombay High Court’s ruling emphasised the necessity for fair trade practices and underscored the importance of consumer protection laws in ensuring a fair marketplace.
This abstract explores the implications of misleading advertisements on consumer autonomy, the ethical responsibilities of advertisers, and the legal mechanisms designed to curb deceptive practices.
It aims to analyse the tension between protecting commercial speech and preserving consumers’ right to make informed choices, shedding light on the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks in addressing this issue.
Keywords: Misleading advertisement, Constitution of India, Patanjali
Comments