Delhi court summons Zomato over false claims of delivering food from 'iconic restaurants'

Delhi court summons Zomato over false claims of delivering food from 'iconic restaurants'

The matter will be heard on 20 March

A court in Delhi has issued a summons to Zomato in a civil suit seeking a restraining order against the company. The plea sought that the food delivery app be directed to discontinue its services for falsely allowing users to order ‘hot and authentic food’ from ‘iconic restaurants’ across the national capital.

The court was hearing a plea filed by a Gurugram resident, Sourav Mall, who claimed that Zomato was engaging in the ‘false and fraudulent’ practice of delivering fresh food from well-known restaurants under its sub-category, 'Dilli ke Legends'.

In an order passed recently, Civil Judge Umesh Kumar said, "Issue summons of the suit and notice of application."

On 24 October 2023, the complainant placed an order from three different eateries in Jama Masjid, Kailash Colony, and Jangpura, following which he tracked the delivery partner and found that the order was picked up from an ‘unknown and unnamed’ place and not from the original restaurant.

The plea questioned, "Why was the food picked up from a nearby location when there is no branch of the restaurant partner there? Why is the food not delivered in the original packaging of the restaurant partner? What is the guarantee that the food has been prepared by the restaurant partner? What is the guarantee that the food is prepared fresh and hot?"

It added that it was ‘inexplicable’ how Zomato managed delivery from Delhi's iconic restaurants to locations in Gurugram and Noida within 30 minutes.

The plea, filed as a ‘representative suit’ for numerous affected individuals under the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), mentioned, "Such representation to users, customers, or patrons of Zomato, is indeed intended to deceive the public at large."