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A Zomato customer in Gurgaon named Sourav Mall experienced disbelief and subsequently took legal action when he received a ‘fresh’ kebab from Lucknow within an implausibly short span of 30 minutes.
The service in question, ‘Zomato Legends,’ promises to deliver hot and authentic food from iconic restaurants across various cities, including Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Mathura, Chennai, and Agra.
Sourav Mall’s order included four dishes, with one being the ‘Galouti Kebab’ from Lucknow. The other three dishes were sourced from Delhi. Despite the considerable distance between Lucknow and Gurgaon, approximately 500 kilometers, the kebab was delivered as if it had been prepared locally.
This prompted Mall, represented by advocates Tishampati Sen, Anurag Anand, and Biyanka Bhatia, to file a lawsuit challenging the authenticity of Zomato’s rapid delivery claim.
The local court in Saket issued a summons to Zomato after reviewing the petition. Mall’s legal team argued that the food could not possibly be transported from the specific cities in such a short time frame and suggested that it was instead stored at various Zomato warehouses.
They also pointed out that the food arrived in Zomato packaging rather than that of the restaurant partners, raising further doubts about the origin of the dishes.
The Indian Express conducted its own test of the service and discovered that an order from Jaipur was promised to be delivered to Gurgaon in just 29 minutes. However, Zomato’s blog from 2022 indicated that ‘Legends’ orders would reach customers the next day, which contradicts the rapid delivery times being advertised.
“By leveraging Zomato’s vast network of restaurant partners and delivery partners, deep understanding of food technology, and insights into what our customers love, legendary dishes will be delivered from across India to you, the very next day,” it says.
The petitioner has urged the court to restrain Zomato from continuing the ‘Zomato Legends’ service under the current claims, as it appears to mislead customers regarding the freshness and authenticity of the food being delivered.
