Chandigarh, August 11: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Chandigarh has ordered KFC‘s Sector 35 outlet to compensate a local resident with INR 12,000 after delivering a non-vegetarian burger instead of a vegetarian one.
The complaint was lodged by Anirudha Gupta, a regular customer of KFC, after an incident on May 3, 2023. Gupta, who placed an order via KFC’s online app, requested a chicken bucket for himself and a Classic Veg Krisper for his wife, who strictly adheres to a vegetarian diet. The total payment was INR 696.59. Upon receiving the order, Gupta’s wife took a bite of the burger, only to discover that it contained chicken. The shock led to immediate vomiting due to her vegetarian diet, causing significant distress.
In response to the complaint, the KFC manager dismissed the accusations, claiming they were baseless and intended to tarnish the company’s reputation. The manager argued that the order had been checked on-site before being handed over to Gupta and emphasized that KFC uses clear packaging symbols to differentiate between vegetarian and non-vegetarian items.
Despite KFC’s defense, the commission ruled in favor of Gupta, acknowledging the distress caused to his wife and ordering the payment of INR 12,000 as compensation.
In a related case, earlier this year, the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Chandigarh also ruled in favor of an Uber customer who was overcharged for a short ride. Ashwani Prashar, another Chandigarh resident, was awarded INR 10,000 for the inconvenience and an additional INR 10,000 to cover legal expenses after he was charged INR 1,334 for an 8.83-kilometer journey on August 6, 2021.