FIR against celebs: Consumer activism or frivolous litigation?

Consumers filing criminal cases against celebrity endorsers may make news, but is this consumer activism or frivolous litigation?
The celebrity endorsement trend in the world of Indian advertising seems nowhere near its end, with reports suggesting that nearly 50% of all endorsements in the country today are backed by celebs. But with criminal cases against celeb endorsers piling up, courts will have to draw the line between frivolous litigation and consumer rights’ protection, say legal experts after an FIR was lodged in Lucknow against actors Ranbir Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar.
READ: Bollywood celebrities mired in controversies
Up until May 2014, the legal liability of a product falling short of its claims fell largely on the company, and not so much on the celebrity endorsing it. But things changed after the Central Consumer Protection Council (CCPC) said that celebrities can be sued for false claims made by products they endorse. “We have Shah Rukh Khan or some other Hindi film star endorsing consumer items and they get huge payment for doing so. A misleading ad featuring such famous faces shown on TV even for a day serves the purpose of advertisers. We discussed how suo motu action can be taken against ads which have been withdrawn. Even the celebrities must pay compensation in case there is a complaint,” Joseph Victor, a CCPC member had said back then. What the (CCPC), the apex body for consumer protection in India, also said was that the actors could be held liable for advertising “false claims” on products they “know to be misleading.”
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Two years later, cases against celebrity endorsers continue to hog the limelight, raising the same question: can celebs be held responsible for the failings of the product they endorse? Are Madhuri Dixit, Preity Zinta and Amitabh Bachchan to be blamed when someone takes ill after consuming a brand of ready-to-cook noodles they endorse? Should Farhan Akhtar and Ranbir Kapoor be answerable to the Lucknow lawyer who has filed an FIR against the stars for an e-commerce site that failed to deliver the 40-inch LED TV he ordered from them within 10 days, as was promised?
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“If there is a product that falls short of its claims, then the law provides for its redressal. Why should a criminal case be filed against the celebrities endorsing it?” asks Saif Mahmood, a lawyer in the Delhi High Court in turn. He adds, “This is a complete and gross abuse of the process of law. Why should court even admit such a complaint? They should be dismissed right at the threshold.”
In 2013, Mahima Chaudhry was summoned by the Lucknow police while investigating a case of fraud by a finance company that she had endorsed. In 2012, Govinda and Jackie Shroff were sued for endorsing a brand of oil for making false claims, while Genelia D’Souza was dragged into a legal battle for endorsing a real estate firm with dubious credentials.
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“They (the number of complaints) cannot be seen as a sign of strengthening of the consumer rights movement. What strengthens consumers are efficient courts and appropriate remedies when products fall short of their claims. But FIRs against celebs don’t necessarily amount to greater power to the consumer,” says Amarjeet Rakhra, a lawyer in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.
Emphasising the thrust of CPCC’s statement on the liability of celeb endorsers, Nadeem Murtaza, another Lucknow lawyer, says, “Unless the complicity of the celebrity and the makers cannot be established in a faulty product, how can you hold a celeb liable for the failings of that product?”
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SEPTEMBER 2015
Rajat Bansal, a lawyer from Keshav Nagar, near Lucknow, filed an FIR against Farhan Akhtar and Ranbir Kapoor for endorseing an e-commerce site from which he had ordered an LED TV worth almost `30,000. Despite full payment in advance, he did not get the delivery of the TV within the stipulated time, leading him to file an FIR against the company and the celebs under IPC sections 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (forgery) on September 19.
JUNE 2015
A case filed by lawyer Sudhir Kumar Ojha in Muzaffarpur claimed that he fell ill after eating two-minute noodles he had purchased from a local shop. Based on his complaint, the district court in Muzaffarpur directed the police to register an FIR in the case against two company officials and film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta, who have endorsed the brand at different points in time.
OCT 2010
Hemendra Singh of Rajasthan bought filed a case against Aamir Khan, seeking compensation from the actor for endorsing a brand of mobile phones, after he bought a handset by the company with faulty parts. “I am a fan of Aamir Khan and I believed his claim (advertisement) and bought the handset,” he told reporters then.
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