On 20 December 2025, a customer bought clothes worth seven thousand rupees from a University Road outlet in Peshawar. At checkout, staff added thirty rupees for a shopping bag printed with the brand’s logo.
The buyer, lawyer Shafaq Aamir, objected. He said the company was making him pay for its own advertising. A legal notice brought no change, so he filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Court.
What The Judge Ordered
On Wednesday, Judge Nasrullah Khan Gandapur ruled against Khaadi Pakistan Limited. The company must refund the thirty rupees, pay twenty-five thousand rupees in damages, and deposit another twenty-five thousand rupees as a fine in the government treasury, as per a report by BBC.
The court held that the bag was not only for carrying clothes. It also promoted the brand. Charging the customer for that promotion was an unfair trade practice under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Consumer Protection Act 1997.
How The Retailer Responded
The company did not deny the charge. It said it is not required to give free bags and supplies them only when a customer asks, against an extra fee.
Officials added that the bags are designed to cut plastic use and that similar charges are common across retail, including international chains. Management said the verdict does not meet the demands of justice and will be challenged in a higher court.
Why The Ruling Still Matters
Shafaq Aamir noted that many shoppers treat thirty rupees as too small to contest. Yet people often take more than one bag, and the extra income plus free publicity adds up.
His lawyer, Ahsan Sardar, said the case was meant to alert the public. Other large stores, he argued, print their names on bags and pass the cost to buyers. The judgment does not ban paid bags. It questions whether a shopper should fund a company’s advertising. For now, one Peshawar customer has a refund, compensation, and a reminder that consumer courts exist for disputes like this.