October 19, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 6, 1428

LAHORE, Oct 18: Justice Muhammad Muzammal Khan of the Lahore High Court has suspended the operation of the Punjab Consumer Court order awarding damages and compensation to a customer who was allegedly served unhygienic food at a restaurant.

Admitting an appeal filed by the management of Village Restaurant against the decision of the consumer court for hearing, the LHC judge also issued notices to customer Mohsin Ali Malik who had been awarded Rs30,000 as damages, Rs10,000 as litigation costs and Rs1,890 as the food bill.

Petitioner’s counsel Ali Sibtain Fazli contended that the complainant claimed to have suffered from severe indigestion after dining at the restaurant along with two friends. His friends had, however, neither filed any claim for damages before the consumer court nor appeared as witnesses.

He also contested the claim of the complainant about the food quality and submitted that the items served to the customers were not sub-standard.

The counsel also challenged the jurisdiction of the consumer court to hear the complaint about the food quality. He submitted that the court’s jurisdiction was restricted only to the goods and any deviation from standard specifications during manufacturing. The cooked food did not fall in the category, the lawyer contended.

The restaurant manager and the chef had appeared in the consumer court and submitted that the food had been prepared under hygienic conditions and there had been no deviation from the recipe.