YOGESHWAR DAYAL, J. - (1.) Messrs. J, B. Bottling Company Private Limited, New Delhi, was convicted on December 5, 1968, by a Judicial Magistrate for an offence under Section 7 read with Section 16 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, and was fined Rs. 5000.00 . The appeal filed by the company against its conviction and sentence was, however, accepted by Shri J. D. Jain, Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi, on November 21, 1969.
(2.) The allegations against the company were that out of the carbonated-water bottles manufactured by it and which were in a truck for delivery to various customers, a Food Inspector found a bottle of "Gold Crush Orange" which contained a dead fly in it.
(3.) The learned Additional Sessions Judge acquitted the company while relying on a Division Bench judgment of this Court in the case of M/s. Rammeshwar Chotte Lal and others v Union of India and other (I.L.R. 1969 Delhi 1196). The Municipal Corporation of Delhi came up in appeal after obtaining special leave of this Court against the order of acquittal passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge. The appeal came up for hearing before a Division Bench (Jagjit Singh and Vyas Dev Misra, JJ.). Before this Division Bench the correctness of the decision in the case of M/s. Rammeshwar Chotte Lal (supra) was challenged and the said Division Bench by its order dated October 31, 1974, referred the following point for being considered by a larger Bench. "Whether a company as defined in section 17 of the Prevenion of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, enjoys immunity from prosecution when under the said Act it is alleged to have committed an offence to which the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 16 is not applicable and for which the minimum penalty of imprisonment for a term of not less than six months and fine of not less than one thousand rupees is provided and further if such a company does not enjoy the immunity from prosecution then on its being found guilty of such an offence can a punishment of fine be imposed on it.";