STATE OF HARYANA Vs. NAND LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) NAND Lal (now 54) was convicted by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sonepat, under Section 16(1)(a)(i) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs. 2,000/- in default of payment of which he was further sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six months. Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence, Nand Lal preferred an appeal, which was allowed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Sonepat, by order dated December 2, 1982. The present appeal has been filed by the State of Haryana against the said acquittal.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the prosecution case is that Shri Balwan Singh, Govt. Food Inspector, PW1, alongwith Dr. Amolak Singh PW2 found the accused in possession of 2 Kgs of curd of unindicated milk contained in an earthen pot at his shop on Bahalgarh Adda on G.T. Road, Sonepat on 28-4-1978. The Inspector served notice Exhibit PA in form-VI and purchased 600 grams of the said curd from the accused on payment of Rs. 1.80 paise, against receipt, for analysis. He divided the sample into three parts and sealed the three bottles after adding drops of formaline in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Act and the Rules. Spot Memo, Exhibit PC was prepared. One sample bottle along with Memo. in Form VII was sent by the Food Inspector to the Public Analyst, Haryana, Chandigarh, through railway parcel. The remaining two were deposited with the Local Health Authority. A copy of the Memo. in Form VII along with specimen seal used was also sent by the Food inspector to the Public Analyst through registered post. The Public Analyst vide his report Exhibit PD found the sample to contain milk fact 2.0 per cent and milk solids not fat 14.1 per cent. On receipt of the report, a complaint was lodged in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate. The Local Health Authority sent a copy of the report to the accused through registered post to inform him that if he so wished, he may have the other sample sent to the Central Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad.

(3.) THE plea of the accused in his statement under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was one of denial. He stated that he was running a shop of selling Pakoras and Samosas and the sample taken from him was of chillies. He examined Anoop Singh DW 1 and Kishori Lal PW 2 in defence. Anoop Singh stated that the sample taken was of skimmed milk and it was duly written on the Khokha in which the accused was carrying on his business and that the milk and curd used there were of skimmed milk. Kishori Lal stated that the sample taken was of curd prepared from skimmed milk (Separata).