TITAN INDUSTRIES LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER a company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, carries on business as manufacturers and sellers of watches and their components. The respondents had effected seizure of watches belonging to the petitioner, contending that they have been sold in violation of the provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged commodities) Rules, 1977, hereinafter referred to as the Rules, which have been framed under the provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 which hereinafter shall be referred to as the act. We may now gainfully refer to the provisions of the Standards of Weights and measures (Enforcement) Act, 1985, hereinafter referred to as the Enforcement Act and the rules framed thereunder which shall be referred to as the Enforcement Rules. By the letter dated 18th June, 2002 the petitioners were informed that the Rules are applicable to the petitioners products and if the petitioner did not compound the case at the departmental level within 15 days of the date of receipt of the notice the respondents will be bound to lodge a case against the petitioner in a Court of law. It is this order which is the subject-matter of challenge before us.

(2.) IT is the case of the petitioners that they are manufacturers and dealers in watches and watch components. The watches are sold under the brand name or trade mark "titan" and are marketed through various retail dealers appointed by them. The watches are kept for display and sale and/or storage in showrooms and outlets situate at various places throughout the city of Mumbai and the State of Maharashtra and are sold by the piece. Customers, it is contended, insist upon inspection/checking and handling the watches and some times on wearing the same on his/her wrist, before making the decision whether to purchase the watch or not. Many a time customers also require the strap of the watch to be changed and replaced with a new/different strap. The goods by their very nature are such that they cannot be sold in a packaged form, but have to be allowed to be handled and inspected and even worn by the customer, before he/she decides whether to purchase the same or not. The petitioner, manufactures and sells numerous models of watches and these watches which are kept for sale at their retail outlets are to be displayed in an open and unpacked form to provide a wider choice to the customers and facilitiate their decision as to the choice of the model.

(3.) THOUGH the watches are not packed in any particular form, having regard to the fact that the goods are delicate and precision engineering based products, at the same time it is necessary to protect the watches adequately, during transportation and storage and also display, so that they remain free from dust and dirt and also from wear and tear and/or damage that is likely to be caused during transportation/storage and even display. For this purpose the watches are put in some sort of covering which may be either a glass case or a plastic box or card board box or in any appropriate form to ensure their protection. This outer case or covering, it is submitted, is not a package in the sense in which the word is used under the Act and the Rules. They are not sealed packages, but are left free to be opened because the customer is entitled to inspect and handle the watches before he/she decides to purchase the same. There is no specific type of boxes or covering for a particular type of watch. The boxes and outer case/covering are inter-changable.