A vegetarian woman in India has sued an American pizza restaurant chain outlet for delivering her a non-vegetarian pizza and has approached the consumer court to issue a complaint in regard to the incident.
She has also sought compensation of rupees 1 crore (Tk1.16 crore) from the restaurant chain.
The woman, Deepali Tyagi, in her petition, has claimed that she is a pure vegetarian because of her “religious beliefs, teachings, family traditions, own conscience, and considers it to be her best choice.”
On March 21, 2019, on the day of Holi festival, Deepali placed an order for a vegetarian pizza from the pizza outlet at her residence at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.
She also stated that the pizza company did not deliver the pizza in the given time frame but she ignored the fact and took a bite of the delivered pizza.
Soon after the bite, they realized it to be a non-vegetarian one and it contained pieces of meat instead of mushroom, Deepali claimed in her complaint.
Her lawyer Farhat Warsi told the consumer court that Deepali immediately called customer care and raised a complaint on their “gross” negligence and delivering a non-veg pizza in a house of pure vegetarians.
Later, on March 26, 2019, a person who referred himself as the district manager of the pizza outlet, made a call to Deepali and gave an offer of serving pizzas to the whole family of her at the outlet free of cost.
In response to their offer, Deepali told the manager that this is not a simple case, as they are thinking it to be since it's an issue of her religious faith and practices.
The accident has also caused her mental agony, as per the petition, and now she would have to go through “several long and expensive rituals” which will cost her lakhs of rupees during her entire life.
Hearing Deepali’s reply, the district manager of the pizza outlet replied that since he is not authorized to negotiate in terms of money, he would hand over the matter to their own legal team, as per the complaint copy.
She claimed that the nature of the response from the accused party was “very casual,” the offer of serving pizza free of cost was nothing but a “mockery and insult to the social and financial status” of the sufferer.
“The accused party’s negligent act has contaminated the complainant's body with food mixed with animal meat that was acquired by killing and cutting short the life given by God to any animal. In her religious belief killing any animal and eating its meat is a ‘paap’ [sin].”
The opposite party has a deceitfully involved complainant in that sin of eating animal meat. They have wounded her soul giving her mental agony for her whole life. They have ravaged her religious belief,” the complaint petition read.
Deepali has urged the consumer court to direct the accused party to provide the claim of Rs 1 crore (Tk 1.16 crore) to her and also direct the pizza outlet to pay the claimed compensation for the mental harassment and financial hardship caused by Deepali and her family.
A Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has asked the accused restaurant to file a reply to the woman’s complaint and also listed the matter for further hearing on March 17.
