Zomato, Chennai hotel fined Rs 30K for serving bad food to customer
After consuming the food, Jagaprabu had severe allergic reactions like breathing difficulty, giddiness and tightness in chest and head and he was rushed to a nearby private hospital
CHENNAI: The Chennai North District Consumer Redressal Commission directed a city-based restaurant and Zomato to jointly pay Rs 25,000 to a customer who had to be hospitalised after consuming poor quality meals ordered through the food delivery app.
Jagaprabu Narayanasamy, a Madipakkam resident in July 2024, ordered a special non-veg meal for Rs 238.05 with discount from Arjun Mummy Daddy Andhra Mess, Velachery, through Zomato, inspired by the restaurant’s positive rating in the app.
After consuming the food, Jagaprabu had severe allergic reactions like breathing difficulty, giddiness and tightness in chest and head and he was rushed to a nearby private hospital.
Jagaprabu was diagnosed with anaphylaxis reaction, a life threatening allergic reaction which occurs within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen, affecting the whole body. Jagaprabu was discharged after two days, and he paid Rs 18,129 hospitalisation and medical expenses cost.
He lodged a complaint with the Food Safety Department, which conducted an inspection and found that the restaurant adopted some unhygienic practices. It also seized non-food grade plastic covers as well and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on them.
The incident affected his work life as Jagaprabu had to reschedule several official meetings due to ill health. "Zomato is supposed to ensure the standard of restaurants before publicising them on their app. The restaurant took advantage of the situation against norms set forth by the Greater Chennai Corporation and served sub-standard, unhygienic food that affected the customer’s health. Zomato indulged in promoting and encouraging restaurants through their app," Jagaprabu told the commission.
The consumer commission headed by president D Gopinath, members V Ramamurthy and Kavitha Kannan found that both Zomato and the restaurant are jointly and severally liable for product liability action and deficiency in service.
Both are directed to pay Rs 25,000 towards compensation for product liability action, deficiency in service, monetary loss, mental agony, pain and sufferings. The commission also asked them to pay the complainant a Rs 5,000 towards litigation cost within two months from the date of receipt of the order.
