Faridabad, Apr 15 A consumer forum here has ordered food company Haldiram Marketing Private Limited to pay more than Rs 20,000 in damages to a customer for selling expired sweets, saying it was "guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practices".
The incident took place on December 21 last year when Nimish Agarwal, a resident of Faridabad, went to a Haldiram's outlet in Sector 16 to purchase sweets.
Agarwal alleged that the salesman, under the pretext of billing, sent him to the first floor and attempted to pack the expired sweets. When he demanded the original box, the salesperson refused to give it to him and even tore the box to conceal the manufacturing and expiry dates.
After this, when interrupted, instead of apologizing, the staff behaved with him very rudely, Agarwal alleged.
Agarwal filed a complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Sector 12, saying the sweets sold to him were manufactured on December 12, 2025, and had an expiry date of December 19, 2025.
This means that the sweets were delivered to him two days after the expiry date, the complaint said.
During the hearing, Haldiram's argued that it has strict quality control and comply with regulations. However, the Commission rejected the company's claim in the face of photographs, videos, and evidence of torn cans presented by the complainant through advocate Prithvi Raj Agarwal.
"Consumer Commission Chairman Amit Arora and Member Indira Bhadana found the company guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practices and ordered it to pay a fine of Rs 15,000 for knowingly selling expired sweets and tampering with the packaging. The commission also ordered to pay Rs 3,300 as compensation for mental torture and harassment, and Rs 2,200 for legal expenses. The Commission directed the company to pay these amounts within 30 days," said advocate Agarwal.
