Delhi Consumer forum issues notice to Zomato in sexual harassment case filed against delivery person

A District consumer forum in Delhi's Mehrauli recently issued notice to food delivery giant Zomato on a plea involving allegations of sexual harassment case by its delivery partner..A three-member bench of Dr. Rajender Dhar, Ritu garudia and Raj Kumar Chauhan passed the order for the appearance of parties, including Zomato and its restaurant partner, McDonalds. .The complainant claimed that she had to undergo immense mental trauma and emotional breakdown due to the alleged sexual assault and grave misconduct by the delivery partner engaged by Zomato without a background check."The delivery executive has sexually harassed the consumer at her own home jeopardizing her safety in the late hours of night," stated the plea..The complainant contended that Zomato is vicariously liable for the actions of its delivery partner. The plea submitted that the details of the delivery agent provided on the Zomato app and the actual agent who came to deliver the food were different. This was only discovered later and no photo was uploaded on the app which could have helped in the identification of the accused, the complainant added..The complainant also informed the forum that she has lodged a formal complaint with the police and that a first information report (FIR) for sexual harassment was registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).A legal notice was also sent to Zomato Pvt. Ltd on account of the damages caused due to deficiency of services on its part, the complainant submitted. In response, the legal team of Zomato is stated to have sent an email to the complainant apologizing for the delivery partner's alleged conduct. As per the complainant, Zomato had assured that it would assist the Greater Kailash Police authorities in the matter, as and when required. The complainant, however, raised concern that Zomato wants to shrug off their liability in the matter. In this regard, she raised a grievance that Zomato did not carry out any follow-up action to address the extremely deficient service on its part, despite raising serious concerns in the matter..The plea further highlighted that as per the guidelines put up by Zomato on their App, a complainant is advised to follow up on such grievances within 12 hours, following which stringent action would be effectively taken against the delivery executive. "However, despite the follow up by the complainant nothing was done and to the utter horror of the complainant found that the chat window was closed by stating “issue resolved”," the plea stated..The complainant, therefore, moved the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at Delhi, seeking a compensation of ₹20,00,000 (₹ 20 Lakhs) for the agony, trauma, and harassment, both physical and mental suffered by her..The complainant was represented by advocates Pragya Parijat Singh and Harshita and Shivank..[Read Order]