DHARAMPALSATYAPAL LIMITED Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question to be resolved is whether the time limit prescribed under sec. 77 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (for brevity, 'the Act') for taking cognizance of offences under the Act can be extended on the basis that the delay occurred due to 'procedural and administrative reasons'.

(2.) Petitioner is a manufacturer of pan masala and is the accused in four criminal cases pending as S.T. No.622/2015, S.T. No.623/2015, S.T. No.624/2015 & S.T. No.52/2016, all before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Palakkad. The prosecutions have been initiated alleging violation of Sec. 3(zz)(v), 26(2)(i), 27(2)(c) and sec. 59 of the Act, read with regulation 3.1.7(1) of the Food Safety and Standards and (Food Products Standards and Additives) Regulations, 2011, (for short the Regulation). These four criminal miscellaneous cases filed under sec. 482 of Cr.P.C have challenged the prosecution of the petitioner in the above-referred four cases.

(3.) In all the above cases except one, the product pan masala was on analysis, detected with Magnesium Carbonate, while in S.T. No.52/2016, the product was a mouth freshener called Pass-Pass, which was found to contain Magnesium Carbonate and Monosodium Glutamate. Both parties to this litigation agreed that Crl.M.C No. 9210 of 2023 can be treated as the leading case, and hence, the facts of the said case are referred to hereunder, unless otherwise indicated.