Expired Maggi sold by Vishal Mega Mart leaves man ill; court imposes Rs 2.8 lakh penalty

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NEW DELHI: A district consumer commission in Andhra Pradesh, in its July 10 order, has held Vishal Mega Mart liable for selling an expired packet of Maggi Atta Instant Noodles to a customer who later suffered food poisoning, calling the sale of expired food a "grave violation of consumer rights."How an expired Maggi packet led to food poisoningP. Sravan Kumar, a resident of Yemmiganur in Kurnool district, bought two packets of Maggi Atta Instant Noodles from a Vishal Mega Mart outlet on the evening of March 20, 2025. He ate the noodles that same night and soon developed fever, vomiting, and stomach pain. A nearby hospital diagnosed him with food poisoning, as per the court order.When he checked the remaining packet of Maggi, he found it had already expired on March 18, 2025, which was two days before the store sold it to him.Alleging that the store had negligently sold him an expired product, causing him physical suffering, medical expenses, and mental agony, Kumar sent the store a legal notice in December 2025 seeking a resolution. When that went unanswered, he approached the consumer commission seeking Rs 5 lakh in compensation, along with punitive damages against the store for endangering the public health.Despite being served notice, Vishal Mega Mart did not appear before the commission or file any response.

Why the consumer commission held Vishal Mega Mart liableThe bench comprising President Karanam Kishore Kumar and Member S. Nazima Kausar noted that the complainant's evidence — the expired noodles packet, the purchase receipt, his payment record, his medical prescription, and proof that the legal notice had reached the store — went entirely unchallenged, since the store never turned up to contest it."In the absence of any rebuttal evidence from the Opposite Parties, this Commission finds no reason to disbelieve the version of the complainant," the commission said, adding that selling expired food "reflects gross negligence and constitutes a clear deficiency in service."

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"The conduct of the opposite parties in selling expired products cannot be treated as an isolated instance. It gives rise to a serious apprehension that numerous such defective and expired items may have been sold to unsuspecting and innocent consumers. Such acts amount to a grave violation of consumer rights and pose a significant threat to public health and safety," the commission noted.The commission further held that the store had unfairly profited from selling expired goods, and directed that such gains be redirected toward the public good rather than kept by the retailer. It ordered that a portion of the penalty "be directed to be deposited into the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Relief Fund" for the welfare of consumers.Partly allowing the complaint, the commission directed Vishal Mega Mart to pay Kumar Rs 25,000 as compensation for mental agony and Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs. Separately, it ordered the store to deposit Rs 2,50,000 into the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Relief Fund as punitive damages for selling expired food and endangering public health.The store has 45 days from receiving the order to pay these amounts, failing which the entire sum will carry 9 percent annual interest until it is paid.