Law students fight false advertisements

BANGALORE: What does one do about ads featuring cosmetics, energy drinks and other sundry products that don’t deliver on their promises? It’s a case the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and its students are seriously addressing. One trimester of their law course focuses on the impact of misleading ads on consumers. What’s more, the students have 10 cases pending against big multi national corporations (MNCs) on false claims.Students from the country’s premier law school have been battling against companies that falsely advertise fairness creams, clinics that promise weight reduction and manufacturers claiming their creams/lotions can arrest sunburn.“In India, there is no comprehensive legislation to control misleading ads. False ads are not just unethical but violate several rights of the consumers. Our students buy these products and test them on themselves before filing cases,” Ashok R Patil, associate professor of law at the chair on consumer law and practice, told TOI.There are 10 cases pending before various courts in Bangalore against big MNCs over claims ranging from hair damage therapy and dandruff care, energy fresh spray, fairness cream for men and sun control lotion.Using these products on themselves, the students found that the effect of these cosmetics was far from the claims made by the companies manufacturing them. The first step was to issue a legal notice before a case was filed.What prompted the NLSIU to train its students to take on the consumer law was a directive from the Centre against ads that mislead the consumers.“The Centre is contemplating setting up a national consumer protection agency under the consumer affairs ministry to monitor and penalize misleading ads. We thought it fit to train our future lawyers in the subject by devoting a subject to it,” added Ashok. When our students checked on the basis for the ad claims, they were surprised to find the companies relied totally on their R&D lab. One firm did a survey on 100 persons for the entire country and then made the claim.