Zomato fined Rs 6,000 for delivering chicken burger to vegetarian

HYDERABAD: Zomato Hyderabad was asked to refund Rs 202.55 for delivering a wrong food item. The organisation was also asked to pay an amount of Rs 5,000 as compensation for the mental agony and trauma caused to the complainant and another Rs 1,000 towards the costs of litigation.

The complainant stated that he had ordered a paneer burger with fries and coke from Corner Bakers in Kothapet by using the food delivery application. Assuming the order was rightly delivered he had eaten the burger but later found that a chicken burger was delivered instead of a paneer burger. The complainant, being vegetarian, claimed that the incident had hurt his religious sentiments and therefore asked for compensation for the deficiency of services.

However, Zomato had not responded to the petition. The organisation had already tendered an apology and compensated by giving Zomato credits of Rs 500.

The restaurant, Corner Bakers, in their written version said that the restaurant had handed over the packed paneer burger to the delivery boy of Zomato and therefore they were not liable for the wrong delivery. The delivery boy who might have collected various orders on the way must have mistakenly delivered the chicken burger, they said.

The court, in its verdict, said that delivering a non-veg food item in place of a vegetarian food clearly shows negligence and deficiency in services. Though Zomato had compensated with credits and tendered an apology, the complainant felt distressed, the court said. Therefore, the court, besides imposing a fine, also asked Zomato to refund the order amount.