Kesar Infra LLP - Ridhi Sidhi
Recommendation: Upheld | Medium: General Public
The ASCI had approached the advertiser for its response in addressing the grievances of the complainant and also forwarded the details of the complaint, verbatim with a request to respond to the same. The advertiser was offered an option to seek an Informal Resolution (IR) of the complaint by modifying or withdrawing the advertisement. The advertiser was also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they availed and submitted their response.
The advertiser in their response stated that it had neither published, authorised, approved for the impugned advertisement, which appeared on independent third-party real estate portal. It stated that it had not instructed any portal to publish the project under the name "Kesar Ridhi Sidhi", and that the project is duly registered with MahaRERA as "Ridhi Sidhi", which is consistently reflected in its official documents and communications. The advertiser further submitted that it cannot be held responsible for content independently published by third parties without its authorisation. They had initiated communication with the concerned portal to verify and, if necessary, rectify the project description appearing on their platform.
The ASCI Secretariat requested the advertiser to furnish copy of the communication sent to the concerned property portal seeking rectification of the project description. The advertiser subsequently clarified that it had not contacted the portal and that no such communications had been issued.
The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the advertisement ( https://www.homes247.in/property/mumbai/andheri-east/kesar-ridhi-sidhi-52821) considered the complaint and the advertiser’s response.
The CCC noted the complainant's objection that the advertiser’s project was being advertised as "Kesar Ridhi Sidhi" on the third-party property portal, whereas the project is registered with Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) as "Ridhi Sidhi by Kesar Infra LLP".
The CCC discussed that using a project name in advertisement that is different from the name under which the project is registered with MahaRERA is likely to cause confusion among consumers regarding the identity of the project. The CCC was of the view that developers may have multiple projects with separate registrations, and therefore advertisement should use the exact name as per the MahaRERA registration.
The CCC further noted the advertiser's submission that the impugned advertisement appearing on a third party property portal had not been authorised by Kesar Infra LLP and that it had intended to have such advertisement corrected. However, the CCC observed that despite being requested to furnish evidence of any communication issued to the concerned property portal seeking correction or removal of the advertisement, the advertiser confirmed that no such communication had been issued.
Based on these observations, the CCC concluded that the advertisement highlighting the advertiser’s project as “Kesar Ridhi Sidhi” was misleading and contravened Chapter I, Clause 1.4 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD.
