S.A. JAYANARAYANA AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA, BY ITS SEED INSPECTOR-CUM-ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL these petitions filed by different petitioners pertain to the prosecution of the petitioners for having committed the offence punishable under Section 19(a) of the Seeds Act, 1966 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act') by the respective Assistant Director of Agriculture and Seeds Inspector. As common questions of law arise for consideration in these petitions, all the matters are taken up together for consideration and disposed of by this common order.

(2.) THE brief facts which are common in all these cases are that the petitioners, who are accused in the respective Criminal Cases or the Special Cases pending before the respective Judicial Magistrate First Class or the Sessions Judge, are the dealers, distributors of producers of various seeds which are governed by the Act. All these petitioners have been prosecuted for the contravention of Section 6 of the Act read with the penal provisions of Section 19 of the Act on the ground that, when the premises of the dealers or the sellers of the seeds were checked by the concerned Seeds Inspector, he suspected the seeds to be substandard ones, that is to say, the seeds did not confirm to the minimum limit of germination and purity as specified under Section 6 of the Act. As such, following the procedure prescribed the respondent after dividing the sample seeds in the three lots sent one sample lot to the Seed Analyst, another lot was retained by him and the third lot was given to the petitioner. In all these cases, after the receipt of the report of the Seeds Analyst that the germination percentage of these seeds is below the norms fixed and as such the purity is affected it was held that the seeds are substandard ones. Thereafter, the respondent has issued notices to the petitioners which have been replied to in most of the cases and being not satisfied with the reply the respondent has proceeded to file the criminal complaints under Section 200 Cr.P.C. against the petitioners alleging the commission of the offence under Section 6 of the Act.

(3.) AT this stage, all these petitioners have approached this Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C praying for quashing of the proceedings.