STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION CHANDIGARH CONSUMER COMPLAINT NO. SC/4/CC/35/2025 MAHI SINDHU D/o. Dalbir Singh PERMANENT ADDRESS - CHANDIGARHCHANDIGARH,CHANDIGARH.

.......Complainant(s)

Versus INC SHOES PVT LTD PERMANENT ADDRESS - CHANDIGARHCHANDIGARH,CHANDIGARH.

.......Opposite Party(s)

BEFORE:

HON'BLE MRS. PADMA PANDEY , PRESIDING MEMBER HON'BLE MR. PREETINDER SINGH , MEMBER FOR THE COMPLAINANT:

Adv. Pankaj Chandgothia (Advocate)

DATED: 20/08/2025

ORDER

STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, U.T.

CHANDIGARH [ADDITIONAL BENCH]

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Consumer Complaint No. : CC/35/2025 Date of Institution : 16/04/2025 Date of Decision : 20/08/2025 daughter of Late Sh.Dalbir Singh, Flat No.12-A, Motia City, Mahi Sindhu Zirakpur, Punjab – 140 603.

……… Complainant V E R S U S , SCO 80-81, Sector 17-C, Chandigarh – 160017, through Inc.5 Shoes Pvt. Ltd.

its Store Manager.

…… Opposite Party BEFORE: MRS. PADMA PANDEY PRESIDING MEMBER PREETINDER SINGH MEMBER PRESENT : Sh. Pankaj Chandgothia, Advocate for Complainant (on V.C).

Opposite Party ex-parte vide order dated 29.05.2025 PER PREETINDER SINGH, MEMBER In brief, the facts necessary for the disposal of the instant Consumer

1.

Complaint are that on 03.12.2024 the Complainant went to the Showroom of Opposite Party to buy Sandals. The cashier asked the Complainant to give her mobile number in order to issue the bill. When enquired by the complainant, the cashier told that it was their policy to take the mobile number of consumers for marketing purposes and messaging and without giving the mobile number he would not be able to issue the bill or take the order. Perforce, the complainant disclosed her mobile number as required by the Opposite Party and thereafter, the Opposite Party issued the bill (Annexure C-1) and handed the Complainant the bought item. It is the case of the complainant that on the pretext of taking the order and issuing bill, the Opposite Party obtain the personal details of consumers and retain it in their database for marketing and other purposes and the said data is prone to leakage or hacking which results in further harassment of the complainant by way of unwanted calls and unwanted solicitation. Many such companies even sell their data to desirous parties and therefore, profit at the expense of the consumers. It has been averred that Government of India, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Department of Consumer Affairs has issued a notification dated 26.05.2023 to all the retailers and sellers association, which also include the Opposite Parties, to the effect that insisting on mobile number during the sale of a product as a pre-requisite mandatory condition, even when a consumer opts not to provide the same, is a violation of their rights and constitutes unfair trade practice under the Act.

It has been further averred that under Section 72-A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, disclosing personal information of a person including mobile number obtained at the time of sale, without her/his consent or in breach of a lawful contract, to any other person, is a punishable offence. It has been also averred that by imposing a mandatory requirement to provide mobile number, consumers are often forced to share their personal information against their will, after which consumers are often flooded with marketing and promotional messages from retailers, which they did not even opt for at the time of purchasing the product. Restricting consumers to buy products or to return, exchange, and refund or resolving consumer grievance solely on the ground that the consumer has not shared her/his mobile number, constitutes unfair trade practice under the Act. In the absence of breach of any other terms & conditions of sale, mere non-sharing of phone number cannot be a ground to deprive consumers from exercising their rights under the Act. Alleging the aforesaid acts amount to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the Opposite Parties