U.B. BUKANA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) U .B. Bukana, Assisting Marketing Manager and V.S. Sirohi, Marketing Manager of M/s. Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizer Co. Ltd. ('the Company' in short) have moved this Cr. Misc. under Section 482, Cr.P.C., read with Article 227 of the Constitution of India for quashing of the complaint, Annexure P2, pending in the Court of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Amritsar.

(2.) THE facts leading to the prosecution, may briefly be drawn from the impugned complaint Annexure P-2. On 17.6.1991, Insecticide Inspector, Baldev Singh inspected the godown of the Company at Amritsar. He drew a sample of Butachlor 50% E.C. brand Narmadachlor, manufactured by the Company and for that purpose, three tins of 5 litres each, bearing batch No. 47, manufactured on 23.12.1989 and carrying the expiry date 22.12.1991, were taken out of the stock and were duly sealed. The Insecticide Analyst, on analysis, confirmed that the sample was misbranded since active ingredients were 41% E.C., W/W of Butachlor, as against the guaranteed percentage of 50%, as indicated on the label of the container. The petitioners have thereby committed offences under Section 3(k)(i), 17, 18 of the Insecticides Act, and punishable under Section 29(1)(i) of the Act.

(3.) THE communication Annexure R4 was sufficient to give indication to the authorities that the petitioners wanted to challenge the report of the Analyst. The matter of prosecution was, however, delayed by complainant and although the report of the Analyst had been received prior to 26.7.1991, when the show cause notice was issued, yet the filing of the complaint was delayed till 2.12.1991. The petitioners were summoned for a date subsequent to the date of expiry of the shelf-life of the product, thereby depriving them of a very valuable right to make a prayer to the Court for analysis of the sample from the Director, Central Insecticide Laboratory. The petitioners having been deprived of their defence, the trial of the complaint cannot end in a conviction and continuation thereof will amount to an abuse of process of the Court. I hereby accept the criminal miscellaneous and quash the impugned complaint and the criminal proceedings. Misc. allowed.