The Supreme Court has granted anticipatory bail to a restaurant owner in Kerala, who was accused of selling adulterated shawarma (meat-based wraps), which led to the death of a customer.
The Bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan granted anticipatory bail to petitioner Shihad MP on May 8 on the grounds that he cooperated with the investigation.
Earlier on December 15, 2023, the Bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Augustine George Masih had passed an interim order, granting temporary relief from arrest to the petitioner, while asking him to cooperate with the probe.
The Apex Court observed on May 8 that after perusing the post-mortem report and the final opinion on the cause of death, it was making absolute its interim order of 2023 on the same terms and conditions.
The matter pertained to the death of a customer three days after consuming the shawarma wrap, which he ordered through food delivery app Zomato.
Police invoked Sections 284 (negligent conduct involving poisonous substances) and 308 (culpable homicide, indicating intent to cause serious harm without causing actual death) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the petitioner.
The prosecution alleged that the restaurant violated guidelines for shawarma preparation and caused widespread food poisoning. Police recorded statements from affected individuals, including Swiggy customers. in the case
In November 2023, the Kerala High Court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of the accused. Following this, the petitioner moved the top court of the country.
Advocates Haris Beeran, Azhar Assees, Anand B Menon and Radha Shyam Jena appeared for the petitioners, while the respondents were represented by Advocates Harshad V Hameed, Dileep Poolakkot, Ashly Harshad and Shivam Sai.