A consumer court in Muzaffarnagar, UP, has imposed a fine amounting to Rs. 20,000/- on actors Govinda and Jackie Shroff for endorsing a pain relief oil. The complaint was filed five years ago against the actors and the brand for not providing pain relief in 15 days as claimed in the advertisement. The recently amended Consumer Protection Act, 2019, has included provisions which impose liabilities on celebrity endorsers for misleading advertisements. The penalty for celebrity endorsers may extend upto Rs. 10 lakh and one-year ban on future endorsement for the first offence. However, an exception has been carved out in cases were the celebrity has done due diligence to verify the claims in the advertisement.
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