Paneer ordered, chicken served: Delhi Consumer Court directs hospital to pay Rs 5,000 to patient

New Delhi: Taking note of a hospital canteen's alleged mix-up between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, the South Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed a private hospital in Saket to pay Rs 5,000 to a patient who complained that he was served a chicken sandwich instead of the paneer sandwich he had ordered.

The Commission also directed the hospital to maintain separate counters and barcodes for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items to prevent such incidents.

As reported by The Indian Express, the bench passed the order after considering the patient's complaint and the hospital's explanation regarding its food billing system.

The case concerned a patient suffering from liver disease who visited the hospital in August 2024 for a routine health check-up.

After consulting a doctor, the patient went to the hospital's canteen and ordered a paneer sandwich. According to the complaint, he followed a strictly vegetarian diet because of his personal and religious beliefs.

However, he alleged that the canteen staff served him a roasted chicken sandwich instead of the vegetarian item he had requested.

The patient maintained that the incident violated his religious beliefs and caused him mental agony and emotional distress.

Following the incident, he sent a legal notice to the hospital, alleging negligence in its food services. However, according to the complaint, the hospital did not respond to the notice.

Aggrieved by the incident, the patient approached the District Consumer Commission seeking a written apology and compensation for the mental agony and emotional distress allegedly caused by the hospital's actions.

Contesting the allegations, the hospital denied that the complainant had established that he was served a chicken sandwich.

It argued that the bill produced by the complainant did not conclusively prove that he had ordered or received the non-vegetarian food item.

The hospital also submitted that vegetarian and non-vegetarian sandwiches had been assigned the same barcode because of a temporary system update.

However, it maintained that separate counters were being operated for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items in the hospital canteen.

During the proceedings, the Commission examined the medical records and the canteen invoice submitted by the complainant.

The records established that the patient had visited the hospital for medical consultation in August 2024 and that a canteen invoice had been issued on the same date.

The Commission noted that although the hospital questioned whether the invoice belonged to the complainant, it had not disputed the authenticity of the document itself.

Rejecting the hospital's objection, the Commission observed, as quoted by Indian Express:

"It is highly unlikely that the patient suffering from liver disease, who visited the hospital to take the services of the doctor, would be interested in getting an invoice that was issued to a third person and filing a frivolous case against the opposite party."

The Commission further took note of the hospital's admission that an operational error had resulted in the same barcode being assigned to both vegetarian and non-vegetarian sandwiches.

It also observed that the hospital had failed to produce photographs or other supporting evidence to establish its claim that separate counters were maintained for the two categories of food.

Another significant aspect considered by the Commission was that the hospital had not categorically denied the possibility that its staff might have mistakenly served a chicken sandwich to the complainant.

Considering the evidence and the hospital's explanation, the Commission ruled in favour of the complainant and directed the hospital to pay Rs 5,000.