The High Court has stayed proceedings in four criminal cases against five senior officials of foodpanda Bangladesh arising from a dispute with a former supplier, while the complainant has been sentenced to six months in prison in a separate cheque dishonour case filed by a foodpanda affiliate.
A bench comprising Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Md Ashif Hasan on Sunday issued a rule and stayed the proceedings pending before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka.
The five officials, including foodpanda co-founders and managing directors Ambareen Reza and Zuabir BA Siddiky, had secured regular bail from the lower court last week.
The cases were filed in 2025 by Md Shihab Mahmud Bashir, owner of IPLE Distribution Network, over a commercial dispute with Delivery Hero Stores (Bangladesh) Limited, which operates pandamart.
The complaints reportedly involve allegations of cheating, criminal breach of trust and disputed return-to-vendor adjustments.
Foodpanda maintains that the cases were filed in retaliation for its efforts to recover outstanding payments.
The company argues that the dispute concerns commercial transactions and accounting reconciliations that should be resolved through contractual and civil remedies rather than criminal prosecution.
The High Court’s order suspends the proceedings covered by its stay pending further judicial directions. It does not constitute an acquittal or a final ruling on the allegations.
Meanwhile, the Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka sentenced Bashir to six months’ imprisonment and fined him Tk5 lakh on 11 October in one of three cheque dishonour cases filed by Delivery Hero Stores under the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881.
The commercial relationship began in 2022 when Bashir’s IPLE Distribution Network became a supplier to pandamart.
According to Delivery Hero Stores, the company terminated the arrangement following persistent supply-related problems, after which the parties disputed outstanding payments.
The company claims Bashir agreed to settle the dues after it offered to waive part of its claim. He subsequently issued three cheques, all of which were dishonoured multiple times because of insufficient funds.
After issuing legal notices and receiving no payment within the prescribed period, Delivery Hero Stores filed three separate cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act in 2025.
The 11 October conviction relates to one of those cases. The remaining two are subject to separate judicial proceedings.
The High Court has yet to determine the merits of the four cases, leaving the allegations against the foodpanda officials unresolved.
