The court responded to a complaint from a resident of Gurugram who alleged that Zomato was engaging in "false and fraudulent" delivery of fresh food from well-known restaurants under its category called "Dilli ke Legends
The complaint questioned why the food was picked up from a place where the restaurant didn't have a branch and why it wasn't delivered in the restaurant's original packaging
Zomato's own blog from 2022 stated that 'Legends' orders would be delivered the next day, which contradicted the fast delivery times advertised by the company
Inc42 Daily Brief
Stay Ahead With Daily News & Analysis on India’s Tech & Startup Economy
A court in Delhi has reportedly summoned Zomato in a civil suit seeking a restraining order against the foodtech giant for continuing to allow 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, which claimed 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.”
According to the plea, Sourav Mall placed an order on October 24 last year, with three different eateries in Jama Masjid, Kailash Colony and Jangpura, following which he tracked the delivery partner and found that the order was picked from the “unknown and unnamed” place and not from 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 managed delivery from Delhi’s iconic restaurants to locations in Gurugram and Noida within 30 minutes, it added.
The plea said, “Such representation to users, customers or patrons of Zomato, is indeed intended to deceive the public at large.”
The plea was filed as a “representative suit” for numerous affected individuals under the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC).
The matter has been posted on March 20 for further proceedings.
Recently, Zomato reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of INR 138 Cr in the December quarter (Q3) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), helped by a sharp growth in its quick commerce business.
Zomato said that it is on track to meet its guidance of adjusted EBITDA break-even for Blinkit on or before the June quarter of the financial year 2025.
A lion’s share of the total operating revenue was still brought in by its food delivery vertical. While the vertical’s revenue went up by 29% YoY to INR 2,205 Cr, sequential growth didn’t meet the company’s expectations.
Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.