N.R. KHADE Vs. SURAJLAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SHRI N.R. Khade, Food Inspector in the employment of Municipal Council Balaghat, obtained sample of milk from the respondent on 28.8.81 after completing after formalities prescribed in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (hereinafter the said Act). The sample was sent for analysis to Public Analyst who vide report Ex. P -10 declared it to be adulterated. Accordingly, a complaint u/s 7 read with section 16 of the Act was filed by Shri Khade in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Balaghat, being Criminal Case No. 1579/81. Vide Judgment dated 6.9.85 the accused was acquitted, which is under challenge in this appeal.

(2.) THE submission is that a copy of the report of Public Analyst was sent to the respondent by post. The acknowledgement was not received. Therefore, the despatch register in which the postal receipt was pasted was produced in the Court by Chitranjan Singh (PW -3), an employee in the office of Deputy Director, Food and Drug Administration, Balaghat. Therefore, a presumption can be drawn u/s 114 of the Evidence Act that copy of the said report accompanied with notice having been sent by post did reach him. In not doing so and acquitting the accused on the basis of non -furnishing of copy of the said report, the Court has committed gross illegality. Even if this submission is accepted, this appeal cannot be allowed because besides this ground another ground of acquittal is the non -corroboration of the evidence of Shri Khade by the two independent witnesses who witnessed the proceeding of taking of the sample and the formalities that followed like bottling of the sample, its sealing, etc. When the independent witnesses did not support the prosecution and the learned trial Magistrate concluded that the uncorroborated testimony of the complainant in such circumstances was not reliable, it cannot be said that such a view was unreasonable. That being the case, this appeal must fail. In result, this appeal fails and is hereby dismissed.