Amazon fined Rs 1 lakh for selling ordinary sweets as Ayodhya Ram temple prasad

The CCPA fined Amazon Rs 1 lakh over listings that sold ordinary sweets as Ayodhya Ram temple prasad. The order widens restrictions on using major religious institutions' names without certified permission.Amazon has been alleged of engaging in deceptive trade. (Photo: India Today)Amazon has been fined Rs 1 lakh for allowing ordinary sweets to be sold online as ‘Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad’, with the consumer watchdog ruling that the platform cannot escape responsibility by calling itself merely an intermediary.The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has directed Amazon to deposit the Rs 1 lakh penalty within 15 days after finding that sweets sold under the ‘Bihari Brothers’ brand by Chandu Trading Company were being marketed as Ayodhya Ram temple prasad without authenticated permission from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.The products included ghee laddoos, khoya laddoos, boondi laddoos and cow’s milk peda. They were listed with descriptions such as ‘Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad’ and labels referring to “Lord Ram’s blessings”.NO AUTHORISATION FROM RAM TEMPLE TRUSTAccording to the CCPA, no authentic permission or approval had been obtained from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to sell the sweets using the temple’s name or represent them as its prasad. The authority took action following a complaint filed by the Confederation of All India Traders in January 2024.CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra said devotees could naturally assume that products carrying such a description were genuine temple prasad. The authority held that commercial use of the temple’s name without permission could hurt the religious sentiments of millions of consumers.RULES EXTENDED TO 10 MAJOR RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONSThe CCPA has also widened the scope of its directions beyond the Ayodhya Ram temple.Amazon has been directed not to allow products to be listed using terms such as ‘prasad’, ‘mahaprasad’ or ‘bhog’ in the name of 10 major religious institutions without certified permission from the respective institution.The restrictions cover prominent shrines including the Ram Janmabhoomi, Tirupati Devasthanam, Mata Vaishno Devi and Jagannath Temple.The move seeks to prevent sellers from using the names of major religious institutions to market ordinary products as authentic offerings.AMAZON CANNOT ESCAPE RESPONSIBILITY AS ‘INTERMEDIARY’The CCPA also rejected the argument that Amazon is merely an intermediary and therefore should not be held responsible for such listings.The authority has directed Amazon to ensure that complete information about sellers and its grievance officer is clearly available on the platform.The action puts greater responsibility on the e-commerce platform to scrutinise how products linked to religious institutions are described and marketed to consumers.The CCPA’s order means sellers cannot use the names of major temples or religious institutions alongside terms such as ‘prasad’, ‘mahaprasad’ or ‘bhog’ unless they have certified authorisation from the institution concerned.- EndsPublished By: Sonali VermaPublished On: Aug 19, 2026 17:48 IST