Zomato And Mcdonald's Slapped With ₹1 Lakh Fine For Delivering Non-Veg Food Instead Of Veg (Image: Zomato)

The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Jodhpur, has fined popular online food delivery platform Zomato and fast food chain McDonald”s for giving non-vegetarian food to a customer in place of a vegetarian food order. This news regarding the penalty was informed by Zomato through a statement.

Zomato and its restaurant partner McDonald”s have to pay a penalty of ₹ 1 lakh for the violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Additionally, the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Jodhpur, has awarded ₹5,000 as the cost of litigation. Both the monetary penalty and the cost of litigation should be shared jointly and severally by McDonald”s and Zomato. Meanwhile, Zomato informed in a regulatory filing that the company would file an appeal against the order. Zomato also stated that they believe it has a good case on merit, based on the advice from its external counsels.

In its stock exchange filing, Zomato mentioned that the platform is only a facilitator for the sale of food, and the restaurant partner is completely responsible for any wrong delivery or quality of the order. Zomato also added that the order has no material financial, operational, or any other kind of impact on it. This case is to a customer who ordered food from McDonald’s. Zomato delivered this order, but the customer complained that he received non-vegetarian food instead of vegetarian food ordered. On the other hand, shares of Zomato Ltd witnessed a 52-week high recently. They also registered a net profit of Rs 2 crore for the first time in the April-to-June quarter.