SHIV CHARAN Vs. GOVERNMENT FOOD INSPECTOR AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal revision petition by petitioner Shiv Charan (hereinafter referred to as the accused) is directed against concurrent findings of the courts below wherein the accused had been convicted on 23.4.2002 by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Rewari under Section 7 read with Section 16(1)(a)(i) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (for short, the Act) for having been found in possession of adulterated milk for sale and was sentenced on 26.4.2002 by the said court to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months and further ordered to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- which was affirmed in an appeal filed by the accused against the aforesaid judgment of conviction and order of sentence before the Sessions Judge, Rewari on 31.5.2006.

(2.) The facts of the prosecution case, put in brief, are as under: On 16.3.1998 at about 6.00 p.m., Megh Nath Food Inspector, Rewari alongwith Dr. Vinod Kumar Yadav, Medical Officer, intercepted the accused at the railway crossing, Jhajjar Road, Rewari when he was carrying 35/40 Kgs. of mixed milk for public sale, it was contained in two drums; these were fastened to a bicycle. The Food Inspector demanded sample of the said milk by giving him notice in Form VI after disclosing his identity to the accused. Against payment of Rs.7.50 paise, he purchased 750 Mls. of milk out of the said milk for analysis. Before the said purchase, the milk was thoroughly mixed with the help of a plunger. The milk so purchased was divided into three equal parts and was put in three separate dry, clean and empty bottles. Two drops of 40% formaline was added as preservative in each bottle. The bottles were stoppered tightly and were sealed with the seal of the Medical Officer. Each bottle was labelled and wrapped in strong thick paper and the ends of the said paper were pasted with gum. The paper slips bearing the signatures of the Local Health Authority (hereinafter mentioned as LHA) were pasted on each bottle from top to the bottom. Each bottle was secured by means of a strong twine and was sealed with the seals of the Medical Officer and the Food Inspector. Thumb impressions of the accused were obtained and one sealed bottle alongwith memorandum in Form VII was sent in a sealed packet through the railway parcel dated 17.3.1998 to the Public Analyst, Haryana, Chandigarh for analysis. A copy of memorandum in Form VII and specimen impression of the seals used were sent to the Public Analyst, Haryana, Chandigarh separately by registered post on 17.3.1988 itself. The Public Analyst, after analysis of the sample, found the same to be containing milk fat 7.1% and milk solids not fat (hereinafter mentioned as MSNF) 7.4%. Thus, the MSNF were found deficient by 13% of the minimum prescribed standard and the milk accordingly was found to be adulterated. A copy of the report of the Public Analyst was sent by post to the accused, by the Local Health Authority informing him about the launching of the complaint in the specified court and further that if he so desired, he could move an application under Section 13(2) of the Act within a period of 10 days from the date of receipt of the report, to get the second part of the sample analysed from the Central Food Laboratory, Pune. The prosecution was launched in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Rewari. The case was tried as a warrant case by the trial court.

(3.) In pre-charge evidence, Megh Nath, Food Inspector appeared as PW1 and closed the evidence.