Jabalpur: Police in Madhya Pradesh have sent a notice to a man who cancelled his order from food ordering app Zomato because he was assigned a "non-Hindu" delivery man and then tweeted about it, triggering a debate over religious intolerance.
Jabalpur's Amit Shukla has been warned by the police that he could be jailed if he does anything "divisive" in the next six months.
On Tuesday, Shukla had tweeted about cancelling his order placed on Zomato as the delivery rider was a "non-Hindu" and he could not accept food from him due to religious reasons.
Police said they have also put Shukla under surveillance as he had violated constitutional provisions where there is no place for any kind of untouchability and acts against religious harmony.
Jabalpur police superintendent Amit Singh said the customer had been asked to pay a bond of 100,000 rupees ($1,450).
"If he repeats any such action within the next six months, he could face jail or lose his bond money," Singh told AFP.
His behaviour "goes against the constitution and creates discord between communities", he added.
Indian authorities can act against individuals under the Code of Criminal Procedure for different reasons including when they think a person could sow public discord with their actions.
India is a secular state with a strong emphasis on equality and fraternity in its constitution.
Debate on religious intolerance
Shukla's tweet, which went viral on social media, sparked a debate about religious intolerance in the country.
Shukla had also threatened to take legal action against Zomato.
In response, Zomato said on Twitter that "Food doesn't have a religion. It is a religion."
Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal also tweeted that "We are proud of the idea of India and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren't sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values."
The company won support from rival Uber Eats and politicians such as 73-year-old former finance minister P. Chidambaram who said the debate had inspired him to try home delivery food.
The uproar comes amid growing religious sensitivities, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused of pushing a hardline Hindu agenda since he came to power in 2014.
The Zomato driver, named only as Faiyaz, told Press Trust of India news agency that the incident had "hurt" him.
