A PIL in the Supreme Court urges recognition of consumers’ “right to know” about product quality and seller information. The plea demands transparency to protect buyers from fraud and unfair trade practices.
New Delhi: Today, on July 20, A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court asking the Court to declare that all Indian consumers have a “right to know” full details about the products they purchase—including quality, purity, and government certification—along with clear information about the sellers, dealers, and distributors of those products.
The petition highlights that such information is necessary to protect consumers from unfair and restrictive trade practices and to help them seek legal remedies when needed.
The petition is scheduled to be heard by a two-judge bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta on July 21.
The public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a well-known advocate and public activist.
The petition was filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey. It emphasizes the importance of transparency in trade and retail, especially in the current marketplace where consumers face challenges related to product safety, quality, and fraud.
According to the petition,
“Right to know helps consumers avoid falling prey to a fraudulent or deceptive distributor, dealer, trader, seller and shop owner, who might misrepresent a product/service or disappear after sale, purchase and money transaction.”
The petitioner has asked the Supreme Court to issue directions to both the Central and State Governments to ensure that all shopkeepers, traders, and distributors must display important details like their registration number, name, address, contact number, and the number of employees on a clearly visible display board at the entry gate of their establishment.
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This, the plea argues, would help protect customers and allow easy redressal in case of any problem with a purchase.
The petition stresses that “right to know” is a fundamental requirement in any fair marketplace, and that transparency in trade and commerce builds trust and gives consumers the ability to make well-informed decisions.
It also says that consumers should not only be informed about the quality of the product but should also know who they are buying from.
The plea further explains,
“If a consumer has an issue with a product or service, knowing details about the distributor, dealer, and seller is essential for filing a complaint and seeking redressal through consumer redressal forums.”
It also notes that
“when a distributor, dealer, trader, seller and shop owner are transparent about their details, it fosters a fair and competitive market where consumers can make informed choices.”
The main demand made in the petition is to declare and enforce the consumer’s right to be informed, which is supported under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019—particularly Sections 2(6), 2(9), 2(10), and 2(11).
These sections define a consumer’s right to be informed, to be protected from unfair trade practices, and to seek redressal.
The petition concludes by stating:
“In essence, the right to know empowers consumers to be informed or protected and to make choices when engaging in sales, purchases and money transactions.”
It strongly urges the Court to direct that:
“Every consumer has ‘right to know’ not only about quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard, manufacturing date, expiry date and BIS/FSSAI certification of good/products, but also about the details of the distributor/dealer/ trader/seller and shop owner, so as to seek redressal against unfair restrictive trade practices and unscrupulous exploitation in spirit of sections 2(6), 2(9), 2(10) and 2(11) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.”
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