Shah Ghouse, one of the most famous restaurants of Hyderabad, has been slapped with a fine of Rs. 10,000 by Legal Metrology Department after it has been found that the restaurant charged Rs. 4 more than the maximum retail price (MRP) for a 300ml bottle of Thums Up.
The complaint against the restaurant has been lodged in January by Vijay Gopal who also happens to be an anti-corruption activist. Vijay went to the Shah Ghouse restaurant in Shalibanda area of Hyderabad and he was asked to pay Rs. 20 for a bottle of soft drink, the MRP of which was Rs. 16. Here’s what Vijay told,
“These are small issues, which people tend to ignore. However, nobody is supposed to pay extra on MRP. When I asked the restaurant about it, they did not respond. So, I filed a complaint with Legal Metrology department the next day.”
Shah Ghouse was booked by Legal Metrology Department after the inspection, as it was found that it breached the rule 18(2) of Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. As per the rule,
“No retail dealer or other person including manufacturer, packer, importer and wholesale dealer shall make any sale of any commodity in packed form at a price exceeding the retail sale price thereof.”
After two months of filing a case, a fine of Rs. 10,000 has been imposed on Shah Ghouse by Legal Metrology Department. However, as per Vijay, the restaurant should have been booked under section 36(1) of Legal Metrology Act, 2009, which says,
“Whoever manufactures, packs, imports, sells, distributes, delivers or otherwise transfers, offers, exposes or possesses for sale, or causes to be sold, distributed, delivered or otherwise transferred, offered, exposed for sale any pre-packaged commodity which does not conform to the declarations on the package as provided in this Act, shall be punished with fine which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees…”
Source: Facebook
Vijay further adds,
“I don’t know why the restaurant which earns lakhs a day has been fined only Rs 10,000 instead of Rs 25,000 as per the rules.”
Earlier also, some restaurants have been slapped with fines in Hyderabad, such as Sarvi Hotel at Banjara Hills which was fined Rs. 20,000 in February for charging a customer Rs. 40 for a bottled water, the MRP of which was Rs. 20.
Vijay also went to Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum as last year, he filed a complaint against two cinema halls of Hyderabad, Tarakarama Theatre and Venkataramana Theatre, for selling food items above the maximum retail price. Vijay claimed that customers were charged more for soft drinks and other food products by the management, depending upon the timing of the show and volume of crowd.
Vijay has a warning for malls and restaurants as he says,
“My next target will be malls and other restaurants. If they don’t stop unfair practices, I will file a criminal case under section 420 and not just under the Legal Metrology Act.”
Next time, when you are charged more than MRP, don’t remain silent and speak up.
“JAAGO GRAHAK JAAGO”