Consumers' Right To Know: Supreme Court Gives States, UTs 6 Weeks To Respond To Petition

New Delhi, August 5, 2026: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted six weeks to several states and Union Territories (UTs) to respond to a petition seeking recognition of consumers’ “right to know” about the quality, purity and certification of products, as well as details of distributors and sellers.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the petition, which argued that the “right to know” is crucial for consumers to make informed choices and protect themselves from unfair or restrictive trade practices and unscrupulous exploitation.

Six Weeks For Responses

In July 2025, the Supreme Court had agreed to hear the petition and sought responses from the Centre, various states, UTs and others. During Wednesday’s hearing, petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay told the bench that he had so far received responses from only a few states, including Haryana, Punjab, Bihar and Assam, as well as the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

“We grant six weeks' time to the respondents who have not filed responses to file the same,” the bench said.

The Supreme Court posted the matter for hearing after three months, PTI reports.

Plea Seeks Mandatory Disclosure

The petition, filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, has also sought a direction to the Centre and states to ensure that every distributor, trader and shop owner displays registration details at the entrance. These include the name, address, phone number and number of employees, which the plea wants displayed in bold letters on a board visible to the public.

The petition argued that the right to know could help consumers avoid fraudulent or deceptive distributors, dealers, traders, sellers and shop owners who may misrepresent products or services or disappear after a sale, purchase or money transaction.

Focus On Consumer Protection

According to the petition, knowing the details of distributors, dealers and sellers is essential when consumers face problems with products or services and need to file complaints or seek redressal through consumer forums.

It said the right to know essentially empowers consumers to remain informed and protected and to make informed choices while engaging in sales, purchases and money transactions.

“Each consumer has right to be informed about quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard, and price of goods and services to protect him against unfair trade practices, restrictive trade practices and unscrupulous exploitation,” the petition said.

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The case puts the focus on a basic consumer concern: access to information before and after a purchase. The petition’s demands, if accepted by the court, could make information about sellers and products more readily available to consumers and potentially make it easier for them to seek redressal when disputes arise.

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