Caterer charged with serving stale food to Mumbai school students acquitted after 13 years

In 2009, students of Class 10 of a municipal school in Vikhroli fell ill after having lunch at a farewell party.

A magistrate court in Mumbai has acquitted a caterer, who was charged with serving stale food to students of a municipal school in Mumbai 13 years ago.

On February 25, 2009, a week before the board exams were scheduled to start, a municipal school at Parksite in Vikhroli organised a farewell party for Class 10 students, in which gulab jamun, samosa and chicken biryani were served for lunch.

After the party concluded and students went home, some of them reportedly started vomiting. According to school authorities, some 40 students had fallen ill while 19 were admitted to hospital. It was revealed that the students suffered from food poisoning.

One of the victims, a student of Class 10, lodged a complaint against the caterer, who made provisions for lunch at the municipal school, following which the caterer was booked under sections 273 (sale of noxious food or drink) and 337 (endangering life) of the IPC.

Police recorded the statement of witnesses and also obtained the chemical analyser report. After completing investigation, police filed a charge­sheet against the caterer.

When the caterer was presented before a court, he pleaded not guilty. At the time when his statement was recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the caterer had stated he was being falsely implicated in the case.

During the hearing of the case, the magistrate court observed that the panch’s signature was taken at the police station and that the same person has acted as a panch for many cases registered at Parksite police station. “Therefore, it is clear that he is a pliable witness who is habitual and hence his testimony cannot be relied upon,” said additional chief metropolitan magistrate KPRS Rathore.