SOMISETTI NARASIMHARAO Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The constitutional validity of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (37 of 1954), which will be referred to as the Act for the sake of brevity, is challenged in these two writ petitions.

(2.) W. P. No. 471 of 1961 is presented by 161 members of an association known, as Vijayawada Coffee, Retail Kirana and General Merchants Association. Food Inspectors appointed, under the Act obtained samples of food exposed to sale by these petitioners to send them to the public analyst appointed under the Act. Before anything was done in that behalf, this petition was filed impugning the legality of the Act apprehending that the machinery devised under the Act would bo put in motion if the samples were found, to contain adulterated food. They did not wait to see what the reports of the Public Analyst would be and whether any action was going to be taken against them. It is the taking of the samples of the commodities in which they deal that has driven the petitioners to this Court for the relief of striking down the Act as ultra vires and void.

(3.) The sections of the Act, which have come in for special criticism, are Sections 2, 10, and 19. What is urged in respect of Section 2 is that it was widely defined as to take in matters which are beyond the scope and ambit of the object of the enactment and the intention of the legislature namely, the prevention of adulteration, of food which is injurious to public health. As regards Section 10, what is stated is that arbitrary powers have been conferred upon Food Inspectors which are more often being abused and that it is impeding their trade and business. Section 19 is attacked as containing a principle of discrimination and also a restriction on their freedom of trade and that as such it is obnoxious to Articles 14 and 19(i)(g) of the Constitution.