A court here has issued a summons to food delivery app Zomato in a civil complaint seeking a restraining order to prevent the firm from continuing its services, which allow users to buy “hot and authentic food” from “iconic restaurants” around the national capital.
The court was hearing a case brought by a Gurugram resident who said Zomato was participating in the “false and fraudulent” business of providing fresh food from well-known eateries under its sub-category, ‘Dilli ke Legends’.
In a recent judgement, Civil Judge Umesh Kumar stated, “Issue summons of the suit and notice of application.”
According to the petition, Sourav Mall placed an order from three different eateries in Jama Masjid, Kailash Colony, and Jangpura on October 24 last year, after which he tracked the delivery partner and discovered that the order was picked up from an “unknown and unnamed” location rather than the original restaurant.
“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?” the plea said.
It was “inexplicable” how Zomato was able to transport from Delhi’s famed eateries to Gurugram and Noida un less than 30 minutes, it claimed.
According to the complaint, “Such representation to users, customers or patrons of Zomato, is indeed intended to deceive the public at large.”
The plea was brought as a “representative suit” for a large number of aggrieved persons under the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC).
The case was scheduled to be heard again on 20 March.
