Court orders compensation of Rs 96,500 for food poisoning caused by stale Al Faham

RANNI: A consumer dispute redressal commission in Pathanamthitta has ordered a compensation of Rs 96,500 to a customer who suffered food poisoning after consuming stale Al Faham. The order was issued on the plea filed by Reena Thomas of Vechoochira in Ranni, against Ashish John Mathew, owner of Kings Biryani Cafe at Chethomkara in Ranni and his manager.

The incident occurred on October 21 in 2025. Reena and her sister fell ill after consuming Al Faham from the hotel and were admitted to hospital. Medical tests confirmed that the illness was caused by a Salmonella infection resulting from stale food. The hotel authorities had ignored the complaint about the food being stale and had also charged a bill of Rs 740.

Reena approached the commission after the hotel owner refused to bear the hospital expenses. The order was issued by the bench comprising of Babychan Vechoochira and Nishad Thankappan. The order has asked the owner to pay the compensation to the complainant within 30 days.

Hospital expenses came upto Rs 36,500, Rs 50,000 for physical and mental suffering and Rs 10,000 for court expenses, and so the total amount is Rs 96,500.