Complaint Issued Against Dunzo By Delhi Consumer Court Seeking Damages After Sexual Harassment By Delivery Partner

On Wednesday, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in New Delhi issued a notice to the delivery company Dunzo. The notice pertains to a complaint seeking damages of ₹50 lakhs for alleged negligent hiring and sexual harassment by one of Dunzo's delivery partners. The notice was issued by a two-member bench consisting of Raj Kumar Chauhan and Dr. Rajendra Dhar.

According to the complaint, Rahella Khan, a resident of Delhi, ordered a delivery from Dunzo, and a delivery partner arrived at her address at midnight being drunk and verbally abusing her. She further claimed that the same delivery partner contacted her over WhatsApp two days later, asking her to withdraw her complaint against him. The delivery partner then harassed her with abusive language, and threats of rape and murder, and even sent her a picture of a girl he claimed to have killed, warning her that she would be next. Khan also alleged that Dunzo did not take any effective action to address the situation. When she sent a legal notice, the company reportedly blamed her for directly contacting the delivery partner.

Khan was dissatisfied with the company's response to the situation and filed a complaint with the police. As a result, an FIR was registered. Subsequently, she approached the district consumer forum seeking damages on various grounds such as sexual harassment, negligent hiring, misrepresentation by the company about the delivery time, false advertising, failure to meet reasonable consumer safety expectations, and overall negligence.

Khan's complaint pointed out that Dunzo should have implemented policies for safe midnight deliveries in metropolitan cities like New Delhi, given the high crime rate against women in such areas. Additionally, the complaint stated that it is the company's bare minimum responsibility to communicate and engage with the consumer who has raised a complaint. Furthermore, the website of Dunzo reportedly allows anyone to become a delivery partner in just 2-3 simple steps, which is deemed unacceptable and unsafe, particularly for midnight deliveries.