SAT PAL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment shall dispose of Criminal Appeal No. 14-SB of 1994 and Criminal Appeal No. 22-SB of 1994, as they arise out of common judgment dated 7.1.1994 of Special Judge, Gurdaspur.

(2.) SAT Pal and Kuldip Singh accused-appellants who had been convicted for offence under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, vide judgment dated 7.1.1994 of Special Judge, Gurdaspur, had filed two separate appeals. Vide that judgment both the accused had been sentenced to undergo RI for two years each and to pay fine of Rs. 5,000/-. In default of payment of fine to further undergo RI for three months.

(3.) THE prosecution case against accused appellants was that on 26.5.1988 Kanwaljit Singh Fertilizer Inspector Gurdaspur Block had visited the godown of IFFCO situated on G.T. Road, Gurdaspur. Sat Pal accused was present as employee/salesman. There were 707 bags of Zinc sulphate weighing 20 kgs each in the stock. The inspector picked up 7 bags. Samples were drawn as per the prescribed procedure. Various formalities of filling up of forms were completed and one sample was sent to Analytical Chemist Punjab (Fertilizer) Testing Laboratory, Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. According to the report, content No. 3, the zinc sulphate was 21% whereas actual contents were 19.40%. There was a variation of 1.60% i.e. 0.20% against the permissible tolerance limit for variation. The sample was thus found to be substandard and, as such, the accused Sat Pal who was salesman/employee of the IFFCO had committed offence.