SHINGARA RAM Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Shingara Ram, a resident of village Kakra in Police Station Bhawanigarh, has filed the present petition for revision of the order dated the 22nd of May, 1969, of Shri C.S. Tiwana, Sessions Judge, Sangrur, rejecting his appeal against the judgment dated the 3rd of May, 1969, of Shri O.P. Singla, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sangrur, convicting him of an offence under Section 16(1)(a) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act) and sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for a year and a fine of Rs. 1,000/-, the sentence in default of payment of fine being rigorous imprisonment for six months.

(2.) The prosecution case may be stated thus. On the 13th of August, 1968, at 8.15 A.M., the petitioner was at the Bhawanigarh bus stand and had with him six kilograms of milk contained in two drums having no inscription thereon. He came from the side of some nearby huts to the main road and was stopped by Food Inspector Y.R. Malhotra (P.W. 1) who was accompanied by his peon named Gurdial Puri, in front of the shop of Bhagwan Dass (D.W. 2). In the presence of Devi Dayal (P.W. 2), another shop-keeper in the neighbourhood, the Inspector purchased from the petitioner 660 ml. of milk against a payment of 75 Paisas after giving the petitioner notice that the milk was being purchased for analysis. This milk was divided into three parts, each one of which was sealed into a bottle after the necessary preservative had been added to it. One of the bottles was given to the petitioner while another was sent to the Public Analyst, Chandigarh who found that the percentage of milk fat in the sample supplied to him was only 0.2 as against the minimum prescribed standard of 6, while the percentage of milk solids not fat in the said sample was 7.8 as against the minimum prescribed standing of 9.5 (report Exhibit P.D.). The Public Analyst was further of the opinion that the sample was deficient in milk fat by 96 per cent and milk solids not fat by 13 per cent as compared to the minimum prescribed standards.

(3.) Y.R. Malhotra (P.W. 1) and Devi Dayal (P.W. 2), the only witnesses produced by the prosecution in support of its case fully supported it.