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The Delhi High Court recently dismissed a petition alleging a rotten piece of chicken in the tetra pack of  ‘Amul Chhach’.

The Single judge bench of Justice Rekha Palli was hearing a petition filed by one Sonia Rani Dua through Advocate Shadab Khan who submitted that she had purchased a tetra pack of ‘Amul Chhach’ from Jio Mart on October, 26, 2020 , However, when on November 14, 2020 she consumed a portion of the drink from the said pack, she became severely ill as according to her the said pack contained a rotten piece of chicken. Consequently, the petitioner has not only been suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea from the said date on a daily basis, but has also been facing severe psychological distress ever since and has been obtaining medical treatment for the same.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner immediately sent a complaint to Amul and Food Safety Standard Authority Of India (FSSAI) but no action had been taken till date.

The petitioner submitted that FSSAI which is responsible for monitoring safety standards of domestically produced goods, failed to respond to the said complaint, and the petitioner was compelled to send a reminder to on August 8, 2021, which has also remained unanswered.

The Court was however of the view that “the relief sought for in the present petition would be in the nature of a consumer dispute and, therefore, the petitioner ought to approach the appropriate authorities under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.”

The Court further observed that "nothing has been placed on record to show that the product consumed by the petitioner was in fact defective, as claimed by her. This disputed question of fact can, therefore, not be decided in a writ petition, but has to be adjudicated by the respondent no.3.”

The bench therefore dimissed the writ petition with a direction to the FSSAI  to respond to the petitioner’s complaint dated within four weeks.

The Court however, made it clear that the dismissal of the petition will not bar the petitioner from approaching the Consumer Court, in case, she so desires.

Case Title: Sonia Rani Dua vs FSSAI