Amazon fined ₹1 lakh for selling sweets as Ram Mandir Prasad

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a ₹1 lakh penalty on Amazon Seller Services Private Limited for allowing the sale of ordinary confectionery marketed as ‘Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad’. The investigation found that products such as ghee, khoya, and boondi ladoos, as well as milk pedas, were listed under the brand ‘Bihari Brothers’ by Chandu Trading Company without authorization from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

The CCPA ruled that using the phrase ‘Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad’ constitutes a misleading trade practice and an affront to the religious sentiments of consumers, as the term implies food blessed by the deity at the Ayodhya temple. The authority noted that the listings appeared shortly before the temple's consecration ceremony in January 2024. Amazon was unable to claim safe harbour protection as an intermediary because it hosted and facilitated the sale of these misleading advertisements.

Following this ruling, the CCPA has instructed Amazon to ensure that products using terms like ‘prasad’, ‘mahaprasad’, or ‘bhog’ in relation to major religious sites—including Tirupati Devasthanam—are not listed without verified authorization from the respective institutions.