A Chennai resident, S Gobinath, purchased angoor jamun and fruit halwa from Adyar Ananda Bhavan’s (A2B) Royapuram branch on November 1, 2020. Upon opening the packet of fruit halwa, he was horrified to find a decomposed cockroach inside the sweet. This incident led to Gobinath suffering severe diarrhoea, rashes, and abdominal pain, requiring hospitalization and intravenous fluid administration. He spent a week bedridden due to the contaminated food.
Despite attempting to resolve the issue directly with A2B, including a phone conversation with an employee who acknowledged the problem, Gobinath was unable to reach a satisfactory resolution. He then sent the contaminated sweet for testing at CVR Labs Private Limited, a lab accredited by several regulatory bodies including the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The test report confirmed the presence of harmful bacteria, including E Coli and Enterobacteriaceae, and the presence of a whole cockroach in the sweet.
In their defense, A2B disputed the allegations, questioning the validity of the lab report and claiming that proper procedures under the Food Safety and Standards Act were not followed. They also denied any telephonic conversations with Gobinath and the presence of roach-infested products. However, the district consumer disputes redressal commission dismissed A2B’s defense, emphasizing that consumer protection legislation does not impose excessive technicalities that hinder justice.
Considering the accredited status of the lab and the adverse health effects suffered by Gobinath, the commission found A2B deficient in service. They awarded Gobinath ₹50,000 as compensation for mental agony and hardship, along with ₹5,000 towards litigation expenses.
