MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF DELHI Vs. AMICHAND AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is against an order of acquittal. On April 2, 1969 Shri J.D. Jain, Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi, accepted the appeal filed by Amichand and his son Gangaram against their conviction and sentence for an offence under section 7 read with section 16 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act").

(2.) During the years 1967-68 and 1968-69 Gangaram, son of Amichand, had a licence for carrying on the business of Halwai in shop No. 2954/XIII, Bahadurgarh road, Delhi. On March 28, 1968, at about 12.40 p.m., Shri V.N. Sharma, a Food Inspector of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, found Amichand preparing Dal-Seb in ground-nut oil in that shop. From the fry pan (Karahi) the Food Inspector took a sample of oil that was being used and for 375 grams of the oil which he purchased for the purposes of analysis he paid me price of Rs. 1.25 to Amichand. On one of the parts of the sample being delivered to the Public Analyst for analysis it was reported to be adulterated due to 1.3 deficiency in Butyro refractometer reading at 44 "o "C, 8.7 deficiency in iodine value and the Bellier test (turbidity temperature-acetic acid test) showing the temperature to be less by 2 "o "C. The result of the analysis was as under:- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_31_LAWS(DLH)1_1974_1.html</FRM>

(3.) On July 23, 1968 the Assistant Municipal Prosecutor, on behalf of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, filed under section 7 read with section 16 of the Act a complaint against Amichand and his son Gangaram. The complaint against Gangaram was in his capacity of the owner of the shop and against Amichand as the vendor of the adulterated groundnut oil. Both the accused were found guilty by the trial Magistrate, Miss S. Saini, on Nov. 29, 1968 and each one of them was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six months and fine of Rs. 1,000.00. On appeal to the Court of Session they were acquitted on the ground that their main vocation was to sell Dal-Seb and not the sale of ground-nut oil and, therefore, it could not be said that the groundnut oil in question had been kept by them for sale as such and the Food Inspector was not justified in taking sample of the ground-nut oil when he did not take sample of the Dal-Seb.