Consumer court: Caterers sued for Rs54.5m over wedding meals
Respondents deny charge, says petitioner trying to escape Rs1.3m bill.
Respondents deny charge, says petitioner trying to escape Rs1.3m bill. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
A consumer court has issued notice to the proprietors of Hanif Rajpoot and Catering Company for December 11 on a suit seeking damages of Rs54.5 million for allegedly serving substandard food at four siblings’ weddings.
Petitioner Muhammad Zulqarnain submitted that on July 22, he had met with Javed Hanif, the owner of the catering company, and Rao Jamal Zafar, the manager, at their shop at Sarwar Road in Cantonment.
The petitioner said that he had hired them to cater the barat reception for his two sisters and the valima reception for his two brothers, to be held on August 31 and September 1. They struck a deal to serve 4,000 guests on the two days at Rs1,000 per head, he said, making a total cost of Rs4 million. He paid Rs1 million in advance.
Zulqarnain told the court that the food served at his sisters’ barat was of poor quality. The meat dishes had a strange smell, he said, and he contacted the respondent to complain and to press them to make sure the food at the valima reception the next day was better. But the food was again bad the next day, with several guests complaining of a strange smell from the chicken, he said.
The petitioner said that he complained to the catering company, but they did not respond, so he served them a legal notice on September 4. They continued to ignore him, he said.
He asked the court to direct the catering company to pay him Rs4 million on account of the payment he had made for the food, Rs30 million as damages, Rs20 million for causing stress, Rs200,000 in lawyers’ fees and Rs300,000 for other expenses.
Catering company
Rao Jamal Zafar, the manager of the catering company, denied that the quality of food served at the weddings had been poor. He said that the company had a long history and good reputation. Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Iqbal had been among the guests at the wedding and had enjoyed the food, he said. One guest at the wedding had later hired the company to cater another event, he added.
Zafar said that the petitioner had actually pledged to pay them a total of Rs5.3 million for the catering and still owed them Rs1.3 million. The petitioner had cooked up the story about the bad food after he had been asked to pay the remainder. He alleged that Zulqarnain had filed the suit in an attempt to get away from paying the bill.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2013.
A consumer court has issued notice to the proprietors of Hanif Rajpoot and Catering Company for December 11 on a suit seeking damages of Rs54.5 million for allegedly serving substandard food at four siblings’ weddings.
Petitioner Muhammad Zulqarnain submitted that on July 22, he had met with Javed Hanif, the owner of the catering company, and Rao Jamal Zafar, the manager, at their shop at Sarwar Road in Cantonment.
The petitioner said that he had hired them to cater the barat reception for his two sisters and the valima reception for his two brothers, to be held on August 31 and September 1. They struck a deal to serve 4,000 guests on the two days at Rs1,000 per head, he said, making a total cost of Rs4 million. He paid Rs1 million in advance.
Zulqarnain told the court that the food served at his sisters’ barat was of poor quality. The meat dishes had a strange smell, he said, and he contacted the respondent to complain and to press them to make sure the food at the valima reception the next day was better. But the food was again bad the next day, with several guests complaining of a strange smell from the chicken, he said.
The petitioner said that he complained to the catering company, but they did not respond, so he served them a legal notice on September 4. They continued to ignore him, he said.
He asked the court to direct the catering company to pay him Rs4 million on account of the payment he had made for the food, Rs30 million as damages, Rs20 million for causing stress, Rs200,000 in lawyers’ fees and Rs300,000 for other expenses.
Catering company
Rao Jamal Zafar, the manager of the catering company, denied that the quality of food served at the weddings had been poor. He said that the company had a long history and good reputation. Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Iqbal had been among the guests at the wedding and had enjoyed the food, he said. One guest at the wedding had later hired the company to cater another event, he added.
Zafar said that the petitioner had actually pledged to pay them a total of Rs5.3 million for the catering and still owed them Rs1.3 million. The petitioner had cooked up the story about the bad food after he had been asked to pay the remainder. He alleged that Zulqarnain had filed the suit in an attempt to get away from paying the bill.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2013.