Raghuvendra S. Rathore, J. - (1.) This criminal misc. petition has been filed by the accused-petitioners seeking to quash the criminal proceedings which has been registered as case No. 1130/1997 and pending before the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jaipur City, Jaipur.
(2.) The brief facts of the case are that on 20.02.1993, the Drug Inspector, Jaipur had inspected the Central Medical Stores of S.M.S. Hospital, Jaipur. The Inspector is said to have noticed some suspended particulate matter in one plastic bottle of Injection Dextrose I.P. (5% WN) (540 MI.). During the inspection, the store-keeper informed the Drug Inspector that on 24.03.1992, the drug injection had been purchased from Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd., 37, Sanjay Marg, Bopal Bari, Jaipur. On suspecting adulteration in the drug, the Inspector divided the sample of the drug in four parts. One part was handed over to the store-keeper. Second part was forwarded to Analyst, C.I.RL., Gaziabad. The third part was dispatched to Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd. on 23.02.1993 at its Jaipur office. Thereafter, the Analyst report was received on 31.05.1994 from Gaziabad Laboratory. The report revealed that the sample did not meet with the general requirements of I.P. in respect of test for sterility. Therefore, the drug was also to be treated as substandard. The copy of the Analyst report was sent to S.M.S. Hospital, Jaipur on 30.06.1994 and another report was handed over on 01.07.1994 to one Shashi V. Narayan, Computer Operator of M/s. Bhilwara Drug Distributors, who was clearing and selling Agent of M/s. Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd., Jaipur.
(3.) It is the case of the petitioners that somewhere in the month of December, 1994, the petitioner No. 1 came to know of the result of the chemical analysis made by the Laboratory at Gaziabad. Thereafter, the: accused-petitioner No. 1 had, on 15.12.1994, challenged the report by addressing a letter to the Drug Inspector, Jaipur. Further, request was made to the Drug Inspector for sending the fourth part of the sample retained by him to the Central Drug Laboratory, Calcutta, for analysis. In pursuance of the said letter, the Deputy Drug Controller, vide his letter dated 17.12.1994, directed the Inspector to arrange forthwith for sending the sample for retesting to Central Drug Laboratory, Calcutta. The complainant had applied for sanction to prosecute the accused-petitioners which was granted by the Deputy Drug Controller, Jaipur, on 10.06.1996. Thereupon, a regular criminal complaint in the Court of learned chief Judicial Magistrate, Jaipur City, Jaipur: had been filed against nine accused persons, including the present petitioner for the offences punishable under the Act of 1940. Thereafter, the learned Magistrate took cognizance and process was issued against all the accused persons.;