DILIPBHAI S SAKHWALA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY way of this petition, u/s. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the petitioners have prayed to quash and set aside the criminal complaint being I-C. R. No. 42 of 2000 registered with Kalol Taluka Police Station.

(2.) THE petitioner no. 1 is the Managing Director while petitioner nos. 2 and 3 are the Directors of a Company named Hardik Pharmaceutical Ltd. . The Company was also granted necessary licence by the competent authority for manufacturing drugs,

(3.) HEARD learned counsel for the respective parties and perused the documents on record. It is a settled proposition of law that if the samples collected are found to be of sub-standard quality, the competent authority is empowered to launch criminal prosecution before the competent Court. In other words, the authority is not empowered to lodge a private complaint before a Police Station in respect of such an offence. Therefore, the action of filing a police complaint against the petitioners is dehors the powers of the authority under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.