Introduction
An advertisement promises your skin will be fairer in 14 days. A coaching centre claims 216 students cracked UPSC because of its course. A supplement says it cures diabetes in seven days. You buy it. It does nothing. You feel cheated.
You can do something about it. Indian consumer law gives individuals real legal avenues to challenge misleading ads, and the consequences for brands have gotten sharper since 2019.
What Counts as a Misleading Advertisement?
Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 defines a misleading advertisement as one that:
- Falsely describes a product or service
- Gives a false guarantee or warranty about it
- Conveys an express or implied representation which is false and which the person making the advertisement knows or ought to know to be false
- Deliberately conceals important information about the product
- Is likely to mislead consumers about the nature, characteristics, quantity, or geographic origin of a product
This covers more than outright lies. Technically-true-but-misleading claims, half-truths, exaggerated performance stats, and fake before-and-after comparisons can all qualify.
Who Is Responsible? It Is Not Just the Brand
The 2019 Act extends liability well beyond the manufacturer. All of these can be held accountable:
- Manufacturers and service providers: The primary party responsible for the content of their own advertising.
- Endorsers and celebrities: Under Section 21 of the Act, any person who endorses a product in an advertisement can be penalised if the ad is misleading provided the endorser has not done adequate due diligence before endorsing.
- Influencers: The CCPA’s Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements, 2022 specifically extend to social media influencers. They must disclose paid partnerships clearly and not make false claims about products they endorse.
CCPA — Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements, 2022 | PIB
The Penalties: What Brands and Endorsers Actually Face
| Penalties Under Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 ▸ First offence: Up to ₹10 lakh for manufacturers, advertisers, and endorsers ▸ Repeat offence: Up to ₹50 lakh ▸ Endorser ban: Up to 1 year for first violation, up to 3 years for subsequent violations ▸ Criminal punishment (Section 89): Up to 2 years imprisonment + fine up to ₹10 lakh; up to 5 years + ₹50 lakh for repeat offences |
The CCPA: The Body That Acts Against Misleading Ads
The Central Consumer Protection Authority, established under Section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, is the primary regulatory body empowered to act against misleading advertisements. It has the power to:
- Investigate misleading advertisements suo motu, without waiting for a complaint
- Issue directions to withdraw or modify a misleading advertisement
- Impose penalties on manufacturers, advertisers, and endorsers
- Prohibit an endorser from endorsing products for up to 3 years
The CCPA is not a passive body. In late 2024 alone, it took action against coaching institutes for inflated UPSC claims, fining institutes including Vision IAS (₹11 lakh), Vajirao & Reddy Institute (₹7 lakh), and StudyIQ IAS (₹7 lakh). By early 2025, it had issued 57 notices to coaching institutes and imposed total penalties exceeding ₹1.09 crore on 28 institutions.
CCPA Official Website — Recent Orders and Actions
As an Individual Consumer, What Can You Actually Do?
- Option 1: File a Complaint with the CCPA
You can file a complaint directly with the CCPA online at ccpa.doca.gov.in if you believe you have been misled by an advertisement. The CCPA can act on individual complaints and can also take class-wide action affecting all consumers misled by the same ad.
- Option 2: File a Consumer Forum Complaint
If you suffered actual loss because of a misleading advertisement — you bought the product, it did not do what was claimed, and you want compensation — you can file a complaint before the appropriate Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The ground would be an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Act, which explicitly includes false representations about goods or services.
- Option 3: Complain to ASCI
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a self-regulatory body that reviews complaints about misleading advertisements across TV, print, and digital media. While ASCI cannot impose legal penalties, it can direct brands to withdraw or modify ads, and its findings carry weight with regulators. Complaints can be filed at ascionline.org.
Advertising Standards Council of India
Real Enforcement Actions Worth Knowing
Coaching institutes (2024–25): CCPA fined 28 coaching institutes over ₹1.09 crore for inflating UPSC selection claims in their advertising.
Rapido (2024): CCPA found that Rapido’s claims about being cheaper than auto-rickshaws were false and took enforcement action.
Patanjali Ayurved (2024): The Supreme Court came down hard on Patanjali for misleading health claims, ordering a nationwide apology advertisement and imposing significant penalties.
PhysicsWallah (2025): CCPA took action for dark patterns and misleading advertising practices on the platform.
One Important Distinction: Puffery vs. Misleading Claims
Not every exaggerated ad is actionable. Courts recognise “puffery” — general boasting that nobody takes literally. “Best in the world” is puffery. “Cures diabetes in 7 days” is a specific, verifiable claim. If false, it is misleading.
The line matters: the more specific and verifiable the claim, the more likely it qualifies as misleading if false. Vague superlatives generally do not.
Wrapping Up
Misleading advertising is no longer low-risk in India. The CCPA has real teeth, celebrities face real liability, and the complaint routes are accessible. That combination is new.
If you bought something based on claims that turned out to be false, you have legal options — a CCPA complaint, a consumer forum complaint, or both. Document the advertisement, keep your purchase proof, and act within 2 years of the purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The CCPA’s 2022 Guidelines specifically cover digital advertising, including on social media. Influencers and brand accounts are both covered. You can file at ccpa.doca.gov.in or at ASCI for digital ads.
The 2019 Act requires endorsers to exercise due diligence before endorsing any product. Lack of knowledge is not a complete defence. If an endorser did not take reasonable steps to verify the claims they were making, they can still be penalised.
For a CCPA complaint (regulatory action), you do not need to show personal financial loss — being misled as a consumer is sufficient. For a consumer forum complaint seeking compensation, you generally need to show you suffered actual loss as a result of the misleading advertisement.
Yes. Section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act allows complaints to be filed on behalf of a class of consumers with the same or similar interests. If you and others were all misled by the same advertising campaign, a joint complaint is both possible and often more effective.
These are specifically covered. Digitally altered before-and-after images or those showing results not typical of the product’s performance are considered misleading representations under Section 2(28) of the Act. The CCPA has issued specific guidelines on this in the beauty and health sectors.
For a CCPA complaint, yes — you do not need to be a purchaser. The CCPA can act on public interest grounds. For a consumer forum complaint seeking compensation, you generally need to have been a consumer who made a purchase based on the misleading claim.
Garvita Mishra is a Legal Content Writer at Meti Legal and Advisory. She is law student driven by curiosity and a habit of asking deeper questions about law and society. She enjoys researching across diverse legal fields, translating complex judgments into practical insights, and continuously exploring new areas of law. Through writing and internships, she aims to make legal knowledge more accessible and meaningful.
