The lawyer said that he did not realise that it was chicken and ate it.
Zomato and a Pune-based eatery have been asked by a consumer forum to pay a Rs 55,000 fine for delivering a non-vegetarian to a lawyer who had ordered a vegetarian dish on the food delivery platform.
Of the total amount, Rs 50,000 is for deficiency in service and the remaining amount for physical and mental harassment, a Times of India report said. A bench of the Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in Pune directed Zomato along with Hotel Preet Punjabi Swad to pay the entire fine within 45 days or with 10% later.
The report said that Shanmukh Deshmukh, a lawyer who practices at Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, was in Pune in the last week of May for some work. He ordered paneer butter masala from the restaurant in Hinjewadi area to break his fast on the evening of May 31 through the Zomato app.
Deshmukh claimed that was instead delivered butter chicken. The lawyer said that he did not realise that it was chicken and ate it. He complained to Zomato delivery person and the hotel for sending him the wrong dish and he was delivered another plate of butter chicken instead of paneer butter masala.
He sent notices to both - Zomato and the restaurant - for hurting his religious sentiments but got no response following which he approached the consumer court, seeking a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh. As evidence, submitted a recording of his conversion with the respondents.
In reply, Zomato told the forum that it had already refunded the order amount and the man's complaint was intended for defaming the company. It also refused to take responsibility and blamed the hotel for supplying the wrong dishes. The hotel, however, admitted the mistake.
Zomato and the hotel were directed to pay Rs 50,000 for deficiency in service and the remaining amount for mental harassment.
Earlier in December last year, Zomato was at the centre of controversy after one of its delivery executives opened the order, ate from it and sealed it back. The video had gone viral and Zomato sacked the person saying it takes "food tampering very seriously."
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