T.P.MUKHERJEE,J. - (1.) THE Corporation of Calcutta filed this appeal with the leave of the Court under Section 417(3) of the Criminal P.C., against the acquittal of the respondents under Section 16(1)(a)(i), read with Section 7(1) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, by a municipal magistrate of Calcutta, The subject matter of the prosecution was Ajowan or Paychotis which, according to the prosecution, was adulterated in the sense that it contained dirt and sandy matter which affect injuriously the nature, substance and quality of Ajowan.
(2.) THE defence was that the article concerned was kept in the shop as a drug and not as an article of food. Respondent No. 1 is a shop dealing in rise, spices and other food stuffs and respondent No. 2 is the proprietor who was present in the shop at the time it was visited by the food inspector find who sold the sample of Ajowen that was demanded by the food inspector.
(3.) THE learned municipal magistrate found that the article in question was stored in the shop 'for sale not as drug but as spice for food admixture in curries and in pan supari.' He found, however, that prosecution had not succeeded in proving that the sample hid such extraneous matter in it in such quantity or had such extraneous harmful matter which affected injuriously the nature, substance and quality of the article. 'On this finding, he acquitted the accused in the case.;