The Supreme Court has said that celebrities and social media influencers will be held responsible if the ads for the products or services they are endorsing is found to be deceptive. Bolstering its stance on misleading ads, the court delivered the verdict at the hearing of the Patanjali ad case on Tuesday.

The bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and A Amanullah cited the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, to highlight the need to keep consumers wellinformed.

"The provisions are meant to serve the consumers and ensure that the consumer is made aware of the kind of product being purchase from the market, particularly in the health and food sectors," said the bench.

The top court informed that they (celebrities and influencers) have to take responsibility for ads as mentioned in guideline 8 (ads that target children) and guideline 12 (duties of manufacturers, service providers and ad agencies) to ensure that consumer trust is not exploited due to lack of knowledge.

It also added that Guideline 13 requires due responsibility to be taken for ads and requires a person who endorses a product to have enough information or experience with the specific food product to be endorsed. "It must be ensured that it is not deceptive," said SC.

The apex court also directed the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and FSSAI to file a fresh affidavit on action taken by Central Consumer Protection Authority against misleading ads, especially in the food and health sector.