If non-veg food hurts religious sentiments, why order from restaurant that serves it? Mumbai consumer court

A consumer court in Mumbai recently remarked that if non-vegetarian food hurts one's religious sentiments, one always has the option to order food from restaurants that serve exclusively vegetarian food. [Gargi Prakash Joshi & Anr. v. Wow Momos Foods Private Limited].A Bench of the Mumbai Suburban Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission comprising President Pradeep G Kadu and Member Gauri M Kapse asked two complainants before it why they chose to order from a non-vegetarian restaurant when they know that non-vegetarian food is hurtful to their religious sentiments. "If the Complainants were strictly vegetarian and the non-veg food hurts their religious sentiments, then, why they opted to order the food items from the restaurant which was delivering both nonveg and vegetarian food instead of ordering the food from the restaurant which was exclusively vegetarian, and served only and only vegetarian food," the court observed in an order dated May 13..The order was passed on a complaint moved by two persons against Wow Momos Food Pvt. Ltd. alleging that its outlet in Mumbai had served them non-vegetarian "Steam Darjeeling Chicken Momos" despite specifying their preference for vegetarian food.They alleged that an employee named Pooja Sharma had ignored their instructions and served them the wrong order. The complainants moved the consumer court seeking ₹6 lakh as compensation from Wow Momos for deficiency in service, mental harassment and hurting religious sentiments. Wow Momos submitted copies of the invoice which showed that the complainants had ordered non-veg momos. They also submitted that no employee named Pooja Sharma has worked for them and that the complainants had actually been served by someone else. Wow Momos alleged that the complainants had physically abused the employee who had served them. It was also submitted that the complainants were given a refund and a gift voucher of ₹1,200 as a gesture of goodwill. .The consumer court noted that the complainants had failed to produce any evidence that they had ordered vegetarian momos as the invoice stated that their order was for the non-vegetarian option. It also opined that the complainants ought to have been able to discern if the food was vegetarian or not before consuming it ."A prudent person would be able to distinguish between veg and non-veg food before consuming it seems reasonable. The Complainant have produced a photo of the offer board which didn't clearly indicates whether the Steam Darjeeling Momo (1 plate) + Pepsi was veg or non-veg. However, the board did mention "veg/non-veg" at the bottom suggesting that the restaurant did provide some indication of the food type. This could imply that the Complainants should have been aware of the possibility of both veg and non-veg options being available," the consumer forum said. In view of these facts, the consumer court saw it fit to dismiss the complaint..[Read Order]