Chennai: Cockroach in restaurant meal, lawyer to get Rs 12,000 compensation
In February 2024, Abinaya Muthu, a lawyer, had ordered a half non-veg carrier meal from Anjappar Restaurant (first opposite party) via Swiggy (second opposite party) and paid Rs 185 for the order.
CHENNAI: The Chennai North District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed a city restaurant to pay Rs 12,000 to the complainant who found a dead cockroach in the meals she ordered through a delivery app.
In February 2024, Abinaya Muthu, a lawyer, had ordered a half non-veg carrier meal from Anjappar Restaurant (first opposite party) via Swiggy (second opposite party) and paid Rs 185 for the order.
Halfway through the meal, she found a dead cockroach and reported the issue to Anjappar Restaurant's manager about the sub-standard quality of the food. She had taken photographs of the food with a cockroach, and the restaurant manager had informed her that she would be provided with a replacement meal.
The lawyer alleged that the eatery had either negligently cooked or negligently packed the food, and added that they evaded her efforts for follow-up. She stated that she developed a mild fever and stomach ache after consuming the meal, which impacted her appetite and professional work.
Abinaya also filed a plaint with the Tamil Nadu Food Safety Department, and she was assured a speedy redressal on or before March 2024. She said providing sub-standard food is an absolute deficiency in service, and unhygienic food being sold without proper evaluation proves unfair trade practice followed by both opposite parties.
Following the legal notice to both parties, the eatery replied that the cockroach was found in the meals, which was mixed with the gravy, and "If the cockroach was found in the meal, there is no possibility of mixing gravy in it."
When the case was brought to the consumer commission, the panel, headed by president D Gopinath and member V Ramamurthy, found deficiency in service against the restaurant.
The complaint against Swiggy on the deficiency in service was dismissed on merits, as they are only a delivery agency. The restaurant was directed to pay a sum of Rs 10,000 as compensation towards deficiency in service, mental agony, pain and sufferings of the complainant and to complete the payment of Rs 2,000 as litigation costs.