![Product sets from two of the Indian D2C brands whose published terms are compared on this page, in their own brand photographs, used to illustrate a page about those brands' jurisdiction and arbitration clauses]()
Nobody reads the terms before buying a Rs. 499 face wash. Near the end of most of them, though, sits a single sentence naming the one city where a dispute can be taken — and it is never the customer's. We read the published terms of eight Indian D2C brands on 17 October 2026, logged out, from India, with nothing bought.
Four name a forum: Minimalist says the "sole jurisdiction of the appropriate court(s) in Jaipur"; Plum the "exclusive jurisdiction of Courts in Thane"; Mamaearth applies "the laws of the state of Delhi"; Bombay Shaving Company names Delhi and New Delhi in two separate clauses. Four — Beardo, Libas, Dot & Key and mCaffeine — name none at all.
And one goes further: "arbitration in Thane in English by a single arbitrator appointed by us", with "each party ... to bear its own cost". Clauses of this shape are ordinary and lawful, and nothing here is an accusation against anyone. This is a description of published documents. It is not legal advice and says nothing about what your rights are.
The forums these terms name
Read 17 October 2026 from each brand's own published terms of service
Jaipur · Thane · the state of Delhi · New Delhi — and four of the eight brands name no forum at all
📅 Update log:
17 October 2026 — First publication. The published terms of service of eight Indian D2C brands read in full from beminimalist.co/policies/terms-of-service, plumgoodness.com/policies/terms-of-service, mamaearth.in/policies/terms-of-service, bombayshavingcompany.com/policies/terms-of-service, beardo.in/policies/terms-of-service, libas.in/policies/terms-of-service, dotandkey.com/policies/terms-of-service and mcaffeine.com/policies/terms-of-service — all logged out, from India, with nothing bought, no account created, no dispute raised and no brand contacted. Recorded this read: Minimalist's sole jurisdiction clause naming Jaipur; Plum's exclusive jurisdiction clause naming Thane together with its arbitration clause (seat Thane, English, single arbitrator appointed by Plum, each party bearing its own cost); Mamaearth's governing-law clause applying the laws of the state of Delhi and its consent-to-venue wording; Bombay Shaving Company's two clauses naming Delhi and New Delhi, the first of which contains a duplicated word in the published text, reproduced here exactly as printed; and the absence of any governing-law or jurisdiction clause surfacing on a plain logged-out read of the published terms of Beardo, Libas, Dot & Key and mCaffeine, together with the registered office at Park Street, Kolkata stated in Dot & Key's terms and the grievance officer address in Andheri (E), Mumbai stated in mCaffeine's. No view is expressed on the validity or enforceability of any clause quoted.
Where eight Indian D2C brands say a dispute has to be heard
Nobody reads the terms of service before buying a Rs. 499 face wash. They are worth two minutes anyway, because buried near the end of most of them is a sentence naming the one city where a dispute can be taken — and it is never yours.
We read the published terms of eight Indian direct-to-consumer brands on 17 October 2026, logged out, from India, with nothing bought. Four name a forum: Jaipur, Thane, Delhi and New Delhi. Four name none. One goes further and sends disputes to arbitration with an arbitrator it appoints itself.
None of this is an accusation. Exclusive-jurisdiction clauses are ordinary, lawful and nearly universal in commercial contracts, and a brand shipping to twenty thousand pin codes has an obvious reason to consolidate where claims are heard. What follows is simply what the documents say, quoted verbatim, so that the two minutes are already spent for you. It is not legal advice and it does not tell you what your rights are.
Verbatim, from Plum's published User Agreement, read 17 October 2026: "All disputes will be subject to arbitration in Thane in English by a single arbitrator appointed by us under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Each party to arbitration shall bear its own cost."
The forum each brand names, in its own words
| Brand | Forum named | What the terms actually say | Note |
|---|
| Minimalist | Jaipur | "Any dispute and/or differences ... shall be governed by the laws of India and shall be subject to the sole jurisdiction of the appropriate court(s) in Jaipur, India." | No arbitration clause found |
| Plum | Thane | "This User Agreement ... will be governed by the laws of India, subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Courts in Thane." | Plus arbitration in Thane, arbitrator appointed by Plum |
| Mamaearth | Delhi | "This T&C shall be construed in accordance with the applicable laws of India and will be governed by the laws of the state of Delhi without regard to its conflict of law principles to the contrary." | "you consent to the jurisdiction and venue of such courts" |
| Bombay Shaving Company | Delhi / New Delhi | "...shall be decided in accordance with Indian Law by Courts courts situated in Delhi" (duplicated word as published); and separately "...subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts at New Delhi." | Two clauses, one page |
| Beardo | None named | No governing-law or jurisdiction clause surfaced on a plain logged-out read of its published terms on this date. | Its terms do set a COD delivery charge and reserve cancellation rights |
| Libas | None named | No governing-law or jurisdiction clause surfaced on a plain logged-out read of its published terms on this date. | Its terms do state: "No refunds shall be applicable on ... Cash on Delivery" |
| Dot & Key | None named | No governing-law or jurisdiction clause surfaced. The terms give a registered office at Park Street, Kolkata. | Registered office stated; forum not stated |
| mCaffeine | None named | No governing-law or jurisdiction clause surfaced. Its grievance officer's address is given as Andheri (E), Mumbai. | Grievance officer named, as the IT Rules contemplate |
Read the second column on its own and the pattern is complete: every forum named is the seller's own city, and no brand in this set names a forum anywhere near most of its customers. Jaipur, Thane and Delhi between them cover a small fraction of the pin codes these brands ship to.
The four blanks matter as much as the four names. Beardo, Libas, Dot & Key and mCaffeine published no governing-law or jurisdiction clause that a plain logged-out read surfaced on this date. That is a finding about a read, not about a company — a clause may sit in a document we did not open, in a section that renders only for signed-in users, or on a page revised since we read it. Two of the four do publish an address: a registered office at Park Street, Kolkata, and a grievance officer in Andheri (E), Mumbai.
The one arbitration clause in the eight
Only one brand in this set takes disputes out of court altogether, and its clause is worth setting out line by line because each line does separate work.
| The element | What the agreement says | What it means in practice |
|---|
| The forum | "subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Courts in Thane" | Thane, Maharashtra - the only place a court claim is contemplated |
| The arbitration | "All disputes will be subject to arbitration in Thane in English by a single arbitrator ... under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996" | In English, in Thane, whoever you are and wherever you bought |
| Who picks the arbitrator | "by a single arbitrator appointed by us" | The clause as published gives the appointment to one side |
| Who pays | "Each party to arbitration shall bear its own cost." | Your costs are yours, whatever the outcome |
| Leaving the agreement | Plum's terms also require notice of termination to be sent by registered post | Recorded in an earlier read of the same document |
Taken together, the clause as published provides for a single arbitrator appointed by one side, seated in that side's home city, conducted in English, with each party carrying its own costs whatever the outcome.
Two things must be said plainly. First, arbitration clauses of this general shape are common in Indian commercial contracts and the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is the ordinary statute to invoke; nothing about citing it is unusual. Second, whether such a clause binds a consumer at all is a contested question of law that Indian courts and consumer forums have addressed in their own way, and this page takes no position on it whatsoever. We report the wording. What it is worth is a question for a lawyer.
What to do with any of this
Before you buy, nothing much. A jurisdiction clause should not decide where you buy a face wash, and it would be silly to pretend otherwise.
After something goes wrong, three habits help. Put the complaint in writing through the brand's own published grievance channel — several of these brands name an officer, an address and an email, which is the route the Information Technology intermediary rules contemplate. Keep the order confirmation, the payment record and a dated screenshot of the policy as it stood when you bought, because these pages are revised without notice and this page is itself only a snapshot of one morning. And read the brand's own refund wording before arguing about a refund: one brand in this set states flatly that no refunds apply to cash-on-delivery orders.
And if the sum is large enough to be worth pursuing, take independent advice. This page is a description of what eight published documents said on 17 October 2026. It is not legal advice, it does not assess whether any clause quoted is valid, binding, enforceable or fair, and it does not tell any reader what their rights, obligations or remedies are in any particular case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which court handles a dispute with an Indian D2C brand?
It depends entirely on the brand, and half of them do not say. Of eight read on 17 October 2026, four nominate a forum in their published terms: Minimalist names Jaipur ("sole jurisdiction of the appropriate court(s) in Jaipur, India"), Plum names Thane ("exclusive jurisdiction of Courts in Thane"), Mamaearth applies "the laws of the state of Delhi", and Bombay Shaving Company names Delhi and New Delhi in two separate clauses. The other four — Beardo, Libas, Dot & Key and mCaffeine — carried no such clause that a plain logged-out read surfaced. This is a description of contract wording, not advice about where you can actually file; Indian consumer law provides forums of its own and this page takes no position on how any clause interacts with them. Take your own advice.
Does Plum require arbitration?
Its published User Agreement, read 17 October 2026, says so: "All disputes will be subject to arbitration in Thane in English by a single arbitrator appointed by us under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996." It adds: "Each party to arbitration shall bear its own cost." Two details are worth reading twice — the seat is Thane regardless of where the customer is, and the clause as published gives the appointment of the single arbitrator to one side. It was the only arbitration clause among the eight brands read. Whether such a clause is enforceable against a consumer is a question of law this page does not answer and takes no position on.
Do all D2C brands publish a governing law clause?
No. Four of the eight read on 17 October 2026 did not — Beardo, Libas, Dot & Key and mCaffeine carried no governing-law or jurisdiction clause that a plain logged-out read of their published terms surfaced on that date. That is not an allegation of anything: a clause may exist in a document we did not read, in a section rendered only for logged-in users, or on a page updated since. Two of the four do publish an address — Dot & Key gives a registered office at Park Street, Kolkata, and mCaffeine names a grievance officer in Andheri (E), Mumbai, as the Information Technology intermediary rules contemplate.
Why is the court always in the brand's own city?
Because that is what an exclusive-jurisdiction clause is for, and it is an ordinary term in commercial contracts worldwide. The four forums named in this read — Jaipur, Thane, Delhi and New Delhi — each correspond to where the business sits, not where its customers do. A brand that ships to twenty thousand pin codes faces claims from all of them, and consolidating the forum is a normal way to manage that. The reason to notice it is practical rather than critical: the cost of pursuing a Rs. 600 order in a city you do not live in is usually more than the order. Indian consumer protection law contains its own provisions about where a consumer complaint may be filed; this page does not interpret them and is not legal advice.
What should I do if a D2C order goes wrong?
Practical steps first, and none of this is legal advice. Raise it with the brand in writing, through the contact or grievance channel its own site publishes — several of these brands name a grievance officer with an address and an email, which is the channel the Information Technology intermediary rules contemplate. Keep the order confirmation, the payment record and the dated screenshots, because policy pages are revised without notice and the version you bought under may not be the version live later. Read the brand's own refund and cancellation wording before you argue about it — one brand in this set states that no refunds apply to cash-on-delivery orders at all. And if the amount justifies it, take independent advice about the forums available to you. Nothing on this page tells you what your rights are.
Prices & codes last verified: October 17, 2026
Zoutons may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Every quotation here is the relevant brand's own published wording, copied verbatim from its own terms of service as that page stood on 17 October 2026, each read logged out, from India, with nothing purchased, no account created, no order placed, no dispute raised or threatened and no brand contacted; emphasis within quotations is ours and is marked, and where a published clause contains an evident typographical duplication it is reproduced exactly as printed rather than corrected. These documents are revised by their owners without notice, so the live wording may already differ from what is quoted here, and the brand's own live page prevails over anything on this page. Where this page records that a brand named no forum, that states only that no governing-law or jurisdiction clause surfaced on a plain, logged-out read of the page named on that date; such a clause may exist in another document, in a section rendered only to signed-in users, in an app, or on a page revised since, and absence in this read is not asserted to be absence anywhere else and is not presented as a shortcoming of any brand. Exclusive-jurisdiction clauses, governing-law clauses and arbitration clauses are ordinary, lawful and widespread terms in commercial contracts; no allegation of an unfair contract term, unfair trade practice, dark pattern, misleading conduct, deficiency in service or breach of any law is made or implied against Minimalist, Plum, Pureplay Skin Sciences, Mamaearth, Honasa Consumer Limited, Bombay Shaving Company, Beardo, Marico Limited, Libas, Dot & Key Wellness Limited, mCaffeine, PEP Technologies Private Limited or any affiliate of any of them. THIS PAGE IS A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS SAY. IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. It does not assess whether any clause quoted is valid, binding, enforceable, fair, reasonable or compliant with the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made under it, or any other law, rule or regulation; it does not state where any reader may, must or should bring any claim; it does not state what any reader's rights, obligations, remedies or time limits are in any particular case; and no lawyer-client relationship arises from reading it. Indian law contains its own provisions governing where a consumer complaint may be filed and the effect of contractual forum and arbitration clauses on consumers, and this page takes no position on any of them. Anyone with a live dispute should read the version of the terms that applied to their own order, raise the matter through the brand's published grievance channel, and take independent professional advice. We did not buy, open, use or test any product from any brand named here, and no claim is made about any product's quality, ingredients, efficacy or suitability; nor is any price, discount, delivery charge or coupon code asserted anywhere on this page.
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