A consumer court has directed softdrink major Pepsi to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh for the presence of a foreign object in a sealed bottle of Pepsi. The object that has caused such a brouhaha is a condom claims the complainant, Sudesh Sharma. The court has also ordered Pepsi to pay a compensation of Rs 20,000 to Sharma who claimed to have severe dyspepsia and headache after consuming Pepsi from a bottle he had bought along with the sealed bottle in which the condom was found. Sharma claims that he bought both the bottles from a shop in Kashmere Gate in Delhi 3 years back.

Pepsi India in a statement said that it has not received the court order as yet but given the media reports it would be taking steps to challenge it.

Pepsi denied negligence on its part and said that the bottles may have contained spurious products illegally marketed under the Pepsi brand name. The court on its part held that Pepsi should have taken deterrent action against such unscrupulous elements who pass off spurious products as Pepsi’s.

According to reports, the court rejected Pepsi’s claim as a “lame excuse” that it could not be held liable as it did not have any authorised dealers in Kashmere Gate.

Pepsi India replied in a statement, “We adhere to strict PepsiCo International standards as well as all standards prevalent in the country. The stringent purification and packaging processes ensure that our consumers get a safe product. We are at present in the process of examining the matter.”