STATE Vs. RAJA RAM RAM SARAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) TWO persons Chooru Ram and Raja Ram were convicted by a Magistrate at Dharamsala under Sections 7 (1) and 16 (1) (a) (ii) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1954 and as both of them had previous convictions they were each given one year's rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/ or in default six months' further imprisonment, Both of them were acquitted in appeal by the Sessions Judge and the State has tiled the present appeal against that order of acquittal.

(2.) THE facts established on the record are that on the 2nd of April 1960 Raja Ram respondent, who is a supplier of milk, booked a can containing about 18 seers of milk by bus from Chamba to Jowalamukhi where Chooru Ram respondent has a shop. The can of milk was delivered at Chooru Ram's shop while C. L. Grover, a Government Food Inspector, happened to be present there. Although apparently Chooru Ram protested that he had not yet properly taken delivery of the milk the Food Inspector insisted on purchasing a sample of milk from the can and he paid for 34 Rs. of milk which were divided into three separate samples according to the provisions of the Act.

(3.) THE milk was admittedly mixed milk i. e. , mixed cow's and buffalo's milk, and the report of the analyst was to the effect that the milk contained 4. 9% of milk fats and 7. 8% of milk solids other than fat and his conclusion was that it was adulterated to the extent of 10% with added water. On these facts both the accused were convicted by the trial Magistrate, but the learned Sessions Judge held that Chooru Ram should be acquitted because it was not proved that the milk was adulterated with added water and Raja Ram should be acquitted because it was not properly proved that he had actually dispatched the milk.