Free Sunday Biryani, ₹13,000 compensation: Puducherry restaurant gets unusual penalty for dead fly | Today’s news
A Puducherry customer who found a dead fly in his food is now entitled to a free Sunday Hyderabadi biryani.
The Puducherry Consumer Commission has pulled up a popular local biryani for serious hygiene lapses and ordered it to pay monetary compensation and serve 10 plates of fresh hyderabadi biryani free to the affected customer for five consecutive Sundays.
The judgment serves as a stark reminder of the legal obligations food establishments face under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.
By serving the contaminated food, the commission found the restaurant directly guilty of a “deficiency in service”, underscoring that kitchen lapses can have real legal consequences.
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what exactly happened
According to a LiveLaw report, complainant P. Sundarakumara Manikandan and his friend Mohammed Niyasudeen visited Biryani & Co on MG Road in Puducherry in December 2025 for food.
During their visit, they claimed to have discovered dead insects in the biryani served to them and immediately documented the incident with video and pictures.
Claiming that the presence of the insects was indicative of poor hygiene practices at the establishment, Manikandan claimed that the incident had caused him mental anguish, fear of potential health risks and loss of confidence as a consumer.
Legal claims
Initially, Manikandan demanded compensation ₹1.3 lakh on various grounds including negligence, health hazards, mental agony and legal expenses and issued a legal notice to the restaurant seeking both compensation and remedial action.
Dissatisfied with the restaurant’s response, he approached the Puducherry District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission alleging service lapses under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
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What did the Commission observe?
Despite serving the legal notice, Biryani & Co did not appear before the commission or contest the case, leading to ex parte proceedings.
The Puducherry Consumer Commission, while evaluating the evidence, found that the photographs submitted were not clear. But the bench said the video footage clearly shows a dead insect, which looked like a fly, in the biryani.
In response to a Google review posted by the complainant, the restaurant acknowledged the incident, apologized and described it as an isolated incident, while ensuring corrective action was taken.
However, he denied responsibility in his formal legal response.
The commission noted the significant inconsistency in the restaurant’s stance and noted that its contradictory position undermined the credibility of the business.
Restaurant ordered to pay compensation
The commission ruled that serving contaminated food constituted a clear “deficiency in service” under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.
The consumer forum held the establishment fully responsible for the void and ordered Biryani & Co restaurant to pay ₹10,000 to the complainant for the mental agony and physical hardship caused.
In addition, the canteen was ordered to pay ₹3,000 to cover the customer’s litigation expenses.
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10 free biryanis
In an unusual order, the commission also directed the restaurant to serve 10 plates of freshly prepared Hyderabadi chicken biryani to the complainant free of charge. According to the specific terms of the order, compensatory meals must be provided at a fixed rate of 2 plates per week for 5 consecutive Sundays.
The forum specifically noted that biryani must be prepared in strict compliance with food safety norms, with the weekly measure to start within two weeks of the restaurant receiving an official order.
