Side of cash with that rice! Court hits eatery with ₹10,000 fine and orders to feed ‘traumatised’ victim free biryani for five weeks!

CHENNAI: In a bizarre twist of culinary justice, a Puducherry man who found a dead insect in his lunch has been awarded the ultimate compensation by a consumer court: a mandated weekly binge of the exact same dish from the exact same establishment.

The Puducherry District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission recently ordered local eatery 'Biryani & Co.' to pay up after a diner, P. Sundarakumara Manikandan, filed a formal complaint. Alongside a standard financial penalty, the court introduced a rather unorthodox culinary sentence. The restaurant must now supply Manikandan with two free plates of Hyderabadi chicken biryani every week for five consecutive weeks, totalling ten free meals.

The legal saga began on December 8 last year when Manikandan and a friend stopped by the restaurant for a meal. The dining experience took a sharp turn for the worse when Manikandan spotted a dead insect nestled amidst the fragrant rice. Armed with a smartphone, he meticulously documented the uninvited multi-legged guest through photos and video footage.

Claiming the contaminated meal caused severe mental distress, anxiety over potential health complications, and shattered his trust as a consumer, Manikandan initially sent a legal notice demanding ₹1.3 lakh in damages. The restaurant's subsequent response failed to satisfy him, prompting the disgruntled diner to escalate the matter to the consumer forum, backed by his digital evidence.

During the hearings, the commission noted that Manikandan had also left a scathing Google review detailing his experience. The restaurant management, attempting damage control online, had replied to the review by admitting to the lapse and offering an apology. This digital confession sealed their fate, as the commission used the online admission as a core piece of evidence to substantiate the claim.

Invoking the Consumer Protection Act of 2019, the commission ordered the eatery to pay Manikandan ₹10,000 for his mental agony and an additional ₹3,000 to cover his legal expenses.
While financial payouts are standard in such disputes, the court's decision to mandate a five-week supply of free biryani adds a distinctly humorous flavour to the verdict. Representatives for the restaurant have not commented on whether they will be extra vigilant with the spice-to-bug ratio during Manikandan’s upcoming weekly pickups.