The Right to Safety: A deeper look into Indian consumer law

Among the six fundamental consumer rights recognised under Indian law, the Right to Safety stands as one of the most essential, especially in a rapidly industrialising and consumer-driven economy like India.

What this right ensures is that consumers are protected against goods and services that may be hazardous to life, health, or property.

From food, cosmetics and electronics, to automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and household items, the Right to Safety helps safeguard consumers from harm caused by defective, counterfeit, or substandard products and negligent services.

What does the “Right to Safety” mean?

The Right to Safety guarantees that consumers have access to goods and services that are safe, and that proper standards of quality and manufacturing are followed.

This includes:

• Protection from physical harm caused by dangerous products or poor services
• Assurance that products meet quality and safety standards
• Accountability for harm caused due to negligence, design defects, or false claims
• Preventive action by authorities against the sale of harmful goods

Vitally, this right doesn’t just apply after damage occurs: it explicitly emphasises preventive care. This means that manufacturers, service providers, and regulators must actively ensure safety before products or services reach the consumer.

Legal backing in Indian law

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 reinforces the Right to Safety with several legal provisions and mechanisms:

1. Product Liability:
   Under Chapter VI of the Act, manufacturers, sellers, and service providers can be held liable for:

• • Manufacturing defects
  • Design defects
  • Failure to provide adequate instructions or warnings
  • Breach of express or implied warranties

2. Mandatory standards and certifications:
Products must often comply with standards set by bodies such as:

• • Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
  • Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
  • Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for pharmaceuticals

Certifications like ISI (for industrial products), AGMARK (for food), and FSSAI license numbers (for packaged food) are key safety markers.

3. Regulation: 

There are other regulatory bodies with powers to recall or prohibit non-compliant goods or impose penalties on companies who do not follow regulation.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) can:

• • Order the recall of unsafe goods
  • Prohibit the sale or advertisement of dangerous products
  • Impose penalties on manufacturers and advertisers who endanger consumer safety

Application in practice

While the legal protections are strong, real-world safety still relies heavily on enforcement and awareness:

• Product recalls: India has seen growing instances of product recalls, especially in sectors like automobiles and electronics, when defects are found. For example, car manufacturers have recalled thousands of vehicles for airbag or brake defects. 
• Food safety: The FSSAI routinely issues alerts about substandard food products, bans unsafe items, and carries out inspections of food processing units. 
• Medical devices and drugs: Faulty medical implants, spurious drugs, and unapproved supplements have triggered legal actions, often following consumer complaints or media reports. 
• Consumer activism: NGOs and consumer forums play a role in pressuring companies to withdraw dangerous products and raise public awareness. 

Challenges in enforcement

Despite the framework in place, several challenges persist:

• Lack of testing infrastructure: Especially in rural areas, the ability to verify product safety remains limited. 
• Low consumer awareness: Many consumers don’t check for certification marks or safety labels before buying. 
• Counterfeit and grey market products: These often escape regulatory scrutiny and can pose serious health and safety risks. 

Why the “Right to Safety” matters

In today’s world, where products are often sourced globally and sold digitally, the Right to Safety is increasingly tied to transparent regulation, robust enforcement, and corporate responsibility.

This right is also about trust. When consumers walk into a store or buy something online, they expect it to be safe to use, consume, or install. Without the Right to Safety, that trust breaks down and the consequences can be fatal.

Conclusion

The Right to Safety is a non-negotiable aspect of consumer welfare in India. Backed by legal mandates, regulatory oversight, and evolving awareness, it serves as a critical tool for protecting citizens from preventable harm.

But its success depends, not just on laws and authorities, but informed, vigilant consumers who demand safe products and hold sellers accountable.

In the end, safety isn’t a privilege: it’s a right. And in a consumer-driven economy, it must be treated as such.