STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. VILAS DESHARATH SHATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are two appeals, one filed by the State and the other by the original complaint against an order of acquittal. The original accused No. 1 Vilas Desharath Shate is the son and the original accused No. 2, Desharath Dadoba Shate is his father. They are running a grocery shop at Kolhapur. Accused No. 2 is the licence-holder of the said shop. On 25th July 1972, Parulekar, who was then serving as Food Inspector, Kolhapur Municipal Corporation, and who is the original complainant, visited the shop of the accused. After disclosing his identity to accused No. 1, who alone was present in the shop, he purchased Dhana Dal weighing 450 gms. from the shop. He divided the quantity in three equal parts and, as per the prescribed procedure, sent one part weighing 150 gms, to the Public Analyst for Analysis. In due course, the report of the Public Analyst was received to the effect that the sample contained coal tar dye, namely, tartraizine. Thereafter, the two accused were prosecuted. There is no dispute that the article in question, namely, Dhana Dal, is food as defined in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, hereinafter referred to as "the Act". The offence which the accused were said to have committed was under section 16(1)(a)(i) read with section 7 of the Act. In short, they are said to have stored and sold an adulterated article of food. The adulteration complained of is one falling under section 2(i)(j), which says that an article of food shall be deemed to be adulterated if any colouring matter other than that prescribed in respect thereof and amounts not within the prescribed limits of variability is present in the article. Under Rule 28 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955, hereinafter referred to as "the Rules", certain coal tar dyes are permitted to be used in food. Tartraizine is one of such coal tar dyes, the use of which is permitted under Rule 28. It is not in every kind of food that the use of permitted coal tar dyes is allowed. Rule 29 provides that use of permitted coal tar dyes in or upon any food other than these enumerated in the Rule is prohibited. Clause (f) of Rule 29 enumerates "fruit products". Clause (m) enumerates "flavouring agents". Even where the use of permitted coal tar dyes is allowed under Rule 29, the maximum limit of these is prescribed by Rule 30. In acquitting the two accused, the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Court No. 1, Kolhapur, before whom they were tried, took the following view:-