PUBLIC PROSECUTOR Vs. K V R ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR,

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal preferred by the State against the order of acquittal made by the Additional First Class Magistrate, Coimbatore in C. C. No. 445 of 1951.

(2.) THE facts are : On 11.6.1951 Sanitary Inspectors Natarajan and Hussain Khan went to the shop of K. V. R. Annamalai Chettiar in Rajah Street, Coimbatore. This proprietor was absent and in fact he is stated to be alive at Perundurai. The employee in the shop S. Shanmugham was present. In the show case in front of the shop there was a tin of butter. Sanitary Inspector Natarajan purchased for the purpose of analysis half a pound of butter from that tin and paid for it. The butter was divided into three parts and the formalities prescribed under the Madras Prevention of Adulteration Act were followed. The butter sent to the Government Analyse, Guindy, was found by the latter to be adulterated with 8.1 per cent. of excess water. Thereupon the proprietor of the shop Annamalai Chettiar and the employee Shanmugham have been separately charge -sheeted for an offence under Section 5 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Adulteration Act. The defence of the accused was that he was not present at the time of the sale and that the butter from which this Ib. was purchased was not butter purchased by him but which had been brought there by Marappan of Vellankurichi for being sold and that this Marappan had executed a letter of warranty and that the sample had been taken before Marappan could return after his leaving this butter in the shop, and wash, clean and drain water from the butter and hand over the same to the accused's shop for sale and that this fact was represented to the Sanitary Inspector by Shanmugham.

(3.) IN support of this plea this Annamalai Chettiar examined this Marappan as D.W. 1 and an attestor of the Mahazar at the time of the purchase of the butter as D.W. 2.