EMBIOTIC LABORATORIES (P) LTD Vs. DRUGS INSPECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.74 of 2010 pending before the Judicial Magistrate Court, Kodumudi, the petitioners have come up with the present petition.

(2.) Petitioner are the accused in the complaint lodged by the respondent for the contravention of section 18(a)(i) and 18-B of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which is punishable under section 27(d) and 28-A of the said Act. The allegations made in the complaint are as follows:

(3.) It is the main submission of the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner that the samples were drawn on 27.09.2007, which were tested only on 26.02.2009 i.e.almost 17 months after they were drawn without disclosing the condition in which they were stored. The samples relatable to the case were drawn on 27.09.2007. The Analyst report as regard the drugs was dated 26.02.2009. The report was sent to A1, which was received on 25.04.2009 and the complaint was filed only in February 2010. The petitioners received summons in May, 2010 from the lower court. By the time, it was found that the shelf-life of the drug had already expired in May, 2009. Hence, the petitioners had lost their valuable right guaranteed under section 25(4) of the Act because they were not in a position to make a request to send another sample to the Central Drugs Laboratory, Kolkata.