Flipkart employees questioned by Delhi Police for selling acid on platform despite Supreme Court ban

Delhi Police questioned employees of e-commerce firm Flipkart for allegedly selling acid on its platform despite the Supreme Court’s ban on the substance.

On December 15, the police issued a notice to Flipkart after the main accused in the acid attack on a girl in Dwarka, Delhi said he bought the substance from the e-commerce website.

According to police, the employees were questioned on Wednesday and were not satisfied with the company’s response.

The company responded to the notice saying that the acid was sold by an Agra-based firm.

Police said whether they will be questioned again will be decided later.

It may be mentioned that in pursuance of the directions of the Supreme Court in the case of Laxmi v. Union Of India & Ors, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an advisory regarding “Measures to be taken for prevention of acid attacks on persons and treatment and rehabilitation of survivors on 30 August 2013.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all the States/Union Territories to take immediate steps to implement the measures mentioned in the advisory to reduce acid attacks and treatment and rehabilitation of acid attack survivors.

“Consumer rights” as defined in section 2(9) of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 include the right to be protected against the marketing of goods, products or services that are dangerous to life and property.

The sale of highly corrosive acids in an easy, accessible and unregulated manner without any due diligence by the e-market entity can lead to disastrous consequences for consumers, especially the vulnerable sections of society, namely women and children, the ministry said.

Under Section 4 (3) of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020, no e-commerce company shall engage in any unfair trade practice whether in the course of operating its platform or otherwise .

Two masked men on a bicycle doused a girl with acid minutes after she left her home in west Delhi for school on December 14, leaving her with serious injuries.

Three people – the main accused Sachin Arora and his two friends Harshit Agarwal (19) and Virender Singh (22) – have been arrested.

Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order Sagar Preet Hooda told a press conference that the acid used in the attack was purchased through an e-commerce portal and the payment was made by Arora through an e-wallet.

During interrogation, it was learned that Arora and the victim were friends till September. They had an argument after which the accused assaulted her, Hooda said, adding that he lives in the girl’s neighbourhood.