London, April 29 (PTI): The Indian godmen reading palms in Britain had better get their predictions right.

A consumer law coming into force will allow people in Britain to sue soothsayers if their forecasts of good fortune and everlasting love don’t come true.

Crystal-ball gazers, who earn over £40 million every year in Britain, are already in a tizzy.

The “babas” who claim to speak to the dead and promise “100 per cent guarantee” of love and riches include many from the Indian subcontinent. They are the most prominent advertisers in Asian publications and the television channels in the various South Asian languages.

The British parliament is in the process of repealing the 1951 Fraudulent Mediums Act, which had replaced the 1735 Witchcraft Act, to harmonise trading laws across the EU on unfair commercial practices.

Since the act came into force in 1951, there have been less than 10 prosecutions in Britain. Under the act, prosecutors had to prove fraud and dishonest intent to secure a criminal conviction. But under the new regulation, dishonest intent will no longer have to be proved before legal action is taken by a consumer.

The burden of proof will lie with the trader, in this case the godman.

The House of Lords debated the changes to the act on April 23, while the debate in the House of Commons is scheduled for May 6. The directive comes into effect in the UK from May 26.

Welcoming the repeal, Lavkesh Prashar, the president of the Birmingham-based Asian Rationalist Society of Britain, said: “This is good news. It will now be possible to take the tricksters and tantriks to court or force them to insert disclaimers in their advertisements.”

The Birmingham outfit has been campaigning for several years against such practices. Its 11-year-old offer to reward any psychic with £10,000 if he proves he possesses special powers is yet to find any taker, despite wide publicity.