A Kerala consumer court has directed a restaurant to pay Rs40,000 as compensation to a person for failure to deliver Onam sadya to her flat on Thiruvonam day though she had paid for it in advance, according to Bar and Bench.
“Every Malayali has emotional attachment to Thiruvona Sadya. Having invited guests for ‘sadya’ and waiting for a long time and not getting the ‘Special Onam Sadya’ ordered is very frustrating,” said the order by the District Consumer Redressal Commission, Ernakulam, presided over by President DB Binu and members V Ramachandran and Sreevidhia TN.
Mental agony, hardship, and financial loss
“The complainant had suffered a lot of inconvenience, mental agony, hardship, and financial loss, because of the negligence of the opposite party,” it said and ordered the restaurant to pay Rs40,000 towards compensation for the deficiency of service committed by the opposite party, and for the mental agony and physical hardships sustained by the complainant,” the consumer court said, while considering a complaint filed by a woman seeking compensation from Maze Restaurant for failure to deliver pre-ordered and pre-paid sadya on the day of Onam, according to Bar and Bench.
Complainant lured by ad brochure
The complainant claimed she was lured by the advertisement brochure of the restaurant regarding supply of ‘Special Onam Sadya’ on Thiruvonam of 2021, August 28. She booked sadya from Maze restaurant for five people after paying Rs1,295 in advance.
The restaurant staff had told the complainant that the sadya would be delivered to the her flat on Thiruvonam day, she contended. However, on Tiruvonam day, the food was notdelivered even after the guests had arrived by 1pm, she said.
The restaurant did not answer any of the calls or messages of the complainant regarding why the food wasn’t delivered, she alleged and said the guests had to leave without having food, leaving her embarrassed.
The restaurant cared to respond only around 6pm giving lame excuses and also did not refund the money, the complaint alleged. This prompted her to approach the consumer court seeking a refund of the money paid by her and compensation of Rs50,000 for the deficiency of services and mental agony.
Maze restaurant, did not appear before the court despite a notice being served.
The court found merit in the case and issued an ex-parte order directing the restaurant to refund Rs1,295 and pay Rs40,000 as compensation for deficiency in service and mental agony and Rs5,000 towards cost of the proceedings, according to Bar and Bench.
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