(1)No person shall,-(a)sell, expose or hawke about for sale or keep, store or prepare for sale any animal intended for human consumption which is diseased, or the flesh of any animal which has died on account of natural causes; or(b)sell, expose or hawke about for sale or keep, store, manufacture or prepare for sale any food or drug intended for human consumption which is unfit for such purpose or is unwholesome or is adulterated; or(c)sell, expose or hawke about for sale any cooked food intended for human consumption except in a dust-proof case; or(d)sell or offer for sale any article of food which is not of the nature, substance or quality specified by a notification by the Government under this or any other Act.(2)Cleansing or destruction of filthy or verminous articles or articles unfit for human consumption. - Where it appears to the Health Officer,-(a)that any article of food offered or exposed for sale or stored or deposited with a view to sale, in or on a street, stall or place in the local area is in such a filthy, dangerous, adulterated or un-wholesome condition as to be unfit for human consumption; or(b)that the cleansing, disinfection or destruction of any such article or any article in a house is necessary in order to prevent the risk of, or to check, infectious disease; or(c)that any such article is infected with vermin or by reason of having been used by any person infected with vermin is likely to be so infected; or(d)that any article of food offered or exposed for sale is in contravention of clause (d) of sub-section (1);The Health Officer may cause the article to be cleaned, disinfected or if he think destroyed and removed for that purpose :Provided that where the value of any such animal or article exceeds twenty five rupees, the Health Officer shall cause it to be produced before a Magistrate and if the Magistrate is of opinion that the animal or article is such as is described in this sub-section or sub-section (1), he shall pass an order for its destruction and removal.(3)In any prosecution for contravention of sub-section (1), the Court shall, unless and until the contrary is proved, presume,-(a)that any animal found in the possession of a person who is in the habit of keeping animals of that class for sale for human consumption, has been kept by such person for sale; and(b)that any food or drug found in the possession of a person who is in the habit of keeping, storing, manufacturing or preparing such food or drug for sale for human consumption, has been kept, stored, manufactured or prepared by such person for sale.
