SITA RAM Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner Sita Ram was prosecuted in the court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Delhi for an offence under Sec. 16 read with Sec. 7 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) with the allegations that on 6.11.1970 he was selling 'Amchoor' at his shop located at 73 Edward lines, Kingsway Camp, Delhi and the Food Inspector of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the Corporation) purchased a sample of Amchoor from the petitioner and sent it to the Public Analyst who reported that Amchoor was adulterated in as much as it contains 80 per cent foreign extraneous matter. The prosecution examined 5 witnesses in the trial court of whom P.W. 2 is the Food Inspector who purchased the sample of amchoor from the petitioner and PWs 4 and 5 are the witnesses who were present at the time. During the course of trial the sealed sample of the amchoor which had been left with the petitioner was sent to the Director, Central Food Laboratory, at the instance of the petitioner. The certificate of the Director of Food was to this effect that the amchoor was adulterated because of the presence of excessive sandy matter. The petitioner when examined under Sec. 342 Cr. P.C. admitted that the Food Inspector had purchased the amchoor but he stated that the amchoor was prepared by grinding the stone of the mango along with its pulp and skin. The petitioner did not examine any defence witness. On a consideration of the above evidence the learned trial court convicted the petitioner under Sec. 16 read with Sec. 7 of the Act and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 6 months and also to pay a fine of Rs. 1000 and in default of payment of fine to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for three months. The conviction and the sentence were confirmed by the Sessions Judge on appeal preferred by the petitioner. The petitioner has, therefore, filed the present revision petition against his conviction and the sentence passed against him.

(2.) Amchoor is an article of food to which no standard of purity has been prescribed by the rules framed under the Act. Amchoor would still be adulterated under sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of sub section 1 of section 2 of the Act:

(3.) According to the prosecution the amchoor purchased by the Food Inspector from the petitioner was adulterated because it contained foreign extraneous matter according to the Public Analyst and it contained excessive sandy matter according to the Director of the Central food Laboratory and was, therefor, not of the nature, substance or quality which it purported or was represented to be.