ASHOK KUMAR KHANDELWAL Vs. PARAMANANDA SINGH AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this application under section 482 of Cr.P.C., the petitioner Ashok Kumar Khandelwal has prayed to quash the criminal proceedings in 2(c) C.C. No.76 of 2005 pending in the Court of learned S.D.J.M., Balasore in which on submission of the prosecution report, cognizance of offences has been taken on 11.07.2005 under section 16(1) (a) (i) read with section 2(i-a) (m) and section 7(i) (iv) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (hereafter 'P.F.A. Act') and process has been issued against him.

(2.) The prosecution case, as per the prosecution report submitted by the opposite party no.1 Paramananda Singh, Food Inspector, Balasore Municipality is that on 24.08.2004 at about 11.30 a.m. he along with Ramakrushna Singh, peon, office of the Health Officer, Balasore Municipality visited a grocery shop situated at Port Road, Balasore named and styled as M/s. Shiva Durga Store. At the time of the visit of the complainant, the petitioner was present in the grocery shop and was selling the food articles such as edible oils, vanaspati, pulses, spices, iodized salt, tea (dust) , wheat products etc. to the consumers for human consumption. After disclosing his identity to the petitioner, the complainant checked the food licence bearing no.127 of 2004 which was valid upto 31.12004. He examined the food articles which were kept in the shop premises for sale for human consumption and suspected that the vanaspati (Dalda) , iodized salt (Aashirvaad) and tea dust (Tata) to be adulterated. The complainant called the persons who were in the shop as well as the persons who were at the neighbouring shop to be witnesses but they refused to be witnesses and did not disclose their identities. The complainant asked Ram Krushna Singh who had accompanied him to be a witness and he agreed.

(3.) The complainant gave a notice to the petitioner in Form No.VI and prepared the inspection report. He purchased 1 kg. 500 grams of vanaspati (Dalda) , 600 grams of tea dust (Tata) and 3 kg. of iodized salt (Aashirvaad) from the petitioner on payment of Rs.186/- and the petitioner granted a money receipt to the complainant to that effect. In presence of the petitioner and the witness, the complainant divided the sample of the food articles purchased into three equal parts separately and each part of the sample was labeled and then completely wrapped with thick paper and the end of the paper was neatly folded in and affixed by means of gum and again labeled on the outer cover. The paper slips bearing the signature of the Local Health Authority -cum- Chief District Medical Officer, Balasore were affixed to the sample packets of vanaspati (Dalda) , tea dust (Tata) and iodized salt (Aashirvaad) from bottom to top of the sample packets after sealing the packets properly as per the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955 (hereafter 'P.F.A. Rules') . The signatures of the petitioner were taken on the wrapper of all the sample packets overlapping the paper slips.