NAGAR MAHAPALIKA Vs. SUDHESHWARI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal by special leave has been preferred by the Nagar Mahapalika, Varanasi, against an order of the learned City Magistrate, Varanasi, acquitting the respondents of the offence under Section 16 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act read with Section 7 of that Act, The accusation against the respondents was that they had sold Ghee which, on analysis, was found to he adulterated.

(2.) THE defence put forward by the respondents was that at the time of sale it had been declared that the Ghee was being sold for the purposes of burning only and that the respondents sold Ghee for that purpose. On 23-10-1961 Ganga Krishna, the then Food Inspector, attached to the Nagar Mahapalika, Varanasi, went to the shop of the respondents and purchased six Chhataks of Ghee at the rate of Rs. 3 per seer. As provided by the Rules, the sample purchased was divided into three parts each of which wag placed in a phial. The phials were duly sealed and one of them was handed over to the respondents and the other two were retained by the Food Inspector out of which one was sent to the Public Analyst for examination. The result of the examination was as below:--1. Butyrorefractometer reading at 40:c. . . 45. 0. 2. Reichert Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19. 8. 3. Moisture (water content ). . . . . . . . . . . 0. 23%. 4. Free Fatty Acids (as Oleic acid ). . . . . 2. 7%. 5. Baudouin's test (for presence of Til oil ). . . . Positive. The Public Analyst was of the opinion that the sample contained a large proportion of vegetable fat or oil foreign to pure Ghee.

(3.) THE main contention advanced on behalf of the appellant is that under the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and the Rules framed thereunder sale of adulterated ghee is prohibited and any person found to be, inter alia, selling or exposing for sale adulterated ghee is liable to be prosecuted.