Ernakulam Consumer Court orders restaurant to pay Rs. 40,000 compensation for not delivering Onam Sadya on Thiruvonam day

The Ernakulam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission recently passed an order in the case of Bindya V Suthan v M/s Maze Restaurant, where the court directed the restaurant to pay a compensation of Rs. 40,000/- for failure to deliver Onam Sadya on Thiruvonam day.

The complainant in the case had ordered 5 Onam Sadya meals to be delivered to her house on Thiruvonam day, as she had invited guests for lunch. Despite multiple calls to the restaurant, they failed to deliver the food on time, leaving the complainant and her guests without any food. The court directed the restaurant to refund the amount of Rs. 1295/- paid by the complainant and an additional compensation of Rs. 40,000/- for the deficiency in service which caused “mental agony and physical hardship” to the complainant. An amount of Rs. 5,000/- was also directed to be paid by the restaurant for cost of proceedings.

The court observed that the restaurant had failed to perform the service availed by the complainant and the deficiency in service had resulted in mental agony, hardship and financial loss to the complainant. The court also stated that the restaurant was answerable for its “callous attitude, utter negligence and deficiency in service”. The court further noted that every Malayali has an emotional attachment to Thiruvona Sadya and that not getting the “Special Onam Sadya” ordered was very frustrating.

The order was passed by the consumer court presided by President DB Bindu and members V Ramachandran and Sreevidhia T N. The counsel for the complainant was Adv Rajesh Vijayendran and Adv Ashok Chacko. The court’s order can be read/downloaded here.

The order passed by the consumer court is a significant one as it highlights the importance of providing quality service to customers and the need to take responsibility for any deficiency in service. The court’s order also serves as a reminder to businesses to take all necessary steps to ensure that customers are not left in the lurch.