You must have often got angry with shopkeepers who overcharged you for a bottle of water or a soft drink, but felt helpless because you were thirsty and had no other option but to pay what the retailer demanded.

Well, here’s a consumer who refused to accept such exploitation and went to the consumer court demanding stern action against the seller — he wanted the Consumer Forum to calculate the excess amount so collected from consumers during the previous three years and ensure that it was donated to a consumer association.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Bharuch, Gujarat, directed the seller to pay Rs 1,50,000 to the Consumer Welfare Fund, in addition to refunding the consumer, the excess amount of Rs 22 charged on four bottles of Mirinda. It also awarded a compensation of Rs 5,000 and costs of Rs 1,000. This was upheld by the consumer courts at the state and the national level. (Hotel Nyay Mandir vs Ishwar Lal Jinabhai Desai, RP No 550 of 2006, decided on December 14, 2010.)

This order should send out a warning to all those retailers, particularly at tourist spots, who blatantly demand a price much higher than the maximum retail price (MRP) printed on bottles of water and soft drinks, in violation of the Standards of Weights and measures (Packaged Commodities) rules.

Having said that, I must clarify that in March 2006, in the case of Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India vs Union of India, the Delhi High Court held that “charging prices for mineral water in excess of MRP printed on the packaging, during the service of customers in hotels and restaurants does not violate any of the provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act.” A similar view was held in respect of clubs in 2009 (Delhi Gymkhana club Limited vs Union of India).

Meanwhile, an amendment to the Packaged Commodities Rules in July 2006 stated that the rule pertaining to MRP would not be applicable to packages containing more than 25 kg or litres and packages meant for institutional consumers — that is, those who bought packaged commodities directly from manufacturers or packers for the service industry, for example, airlines, railways and hotels.

So one can haul up for charging more than the MRP only shopkeepers or those who are selling bottled beverages, without any component of service in it.

That is the law, but personally, I feel that on bottled water, hotels and restaurants should not be permitted to charge more than the MRP.