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MORTON B.G. SPECIAL HARD BOILED SUGAR CONFECTIONERY ARTIFICIALLY COLOURED Permitted Colouring Agents used Net weight (including weight of Immediate Wrappers) : 2 Kg.

Code No.                     14-3
 

Maximum Price Rs. 28-20 Taxes Extra
 

Manufactured by: Morton Confectionery & Milk Products
 

Factory (Prop: Upper Ganges Sugar Mills Ltd.
 

MARHOWRAH-841418 (Bihar))
 

Regd. Office; 9/l R.N. Mukerjee Road,
 

Calcutta-700 001.
 

3. On 22-8-1979, the Food Inspector Solan Shri B.L. Justa visited the premises of aforesaid Goyal Provision Stores, Parwanoo which is owned by Shri Narender Parkash and after disclosing his identity expressed his desire to buy a sample of Toffees for the purposes of analysis under the Act. Shri Narender Parkash then sold to the Food Inspector 900 grams 'Toffees' which were taken out from one of the sealed packages sold by the petitioner firm to M/s. Goyal Provision Stores, Parwanoo and which package contained a label with the above mentioned specifications printed thereon. In other words although the Food Inspector had demanded a sample of Toffees from M/s. Goyal Provision Stores, the latter sold to the Food Inspector the hard boiled sugar confectionery from one of the sealed packages which had been supplied by the petitioner firm.

That on 22-8-1979 the Food Inspector lifted the sample of Toffees from M/s. Goyal Provision Stores, Parwanoo for the purpose of analysis which you supplied to the abovesaid firm vide bill No. MOR/50 dated 25-6-1979 for sale. The same sample was found adulterated/mis-branded and thus you have committed an offence punishable under Section 16(1)(i) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 as you are also liable under Section 7 of P.F.A. Act, 1954 which is (within) the cognizance of this Court. I hereby direct that you to be tried by this Court for the abovesaid offence. Sd/-

Chief Judicial Magistrate, Solan, District Solan (H. P.).

Obviously the charge should have been under Section 16(1)(a)(i) read with Section 7 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and not under Section 16(1)(i) as framed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate.

8. The contention of the petitioner is that the charge framed against him is groundless inasmuch as the article of food sold by it to M/s. Goyal Provision Stores and out of which the sample was purchased by the Food Inspector was neither adulterated nor misbranded. There appears to be force in this contention. According to the report of the Public Analyst the sample was adulterated inasmuch as its quality or purity fell below the prescribed standard. In this connection it need only be mentioned that the sample was analysed not as hard boiled sugar confectionery but as toffees and the standard applicable for toffees and not for hard boiled sugar confectionery was applied by the Public Analyst while determining its quality and purity. It is not disputed that the petitioner never sold the package out of which the sample was taken as toffees but had sold the same as hard boiled sugar confectionery. The Food Inspector admitted in his statement that the sample purchased by him was taken out of a sealed package and the said sealed package at that time contained a label bearing printed specifications as reproduced above. There was thus a clear indication on the label of the container that the contents were hard boiled sugar confectionery and not toffees. Even the Bill No. MOR/50 dated 25-6-1979 vide which the petitioner sold this commodity to M/s. Goyal Provision Stores, Parwanoo, contains no indication if the petitioner had sold toffees to the aforesaid vendor. If therefore, the vendor sold that commodity as toffees or the Food Inspector purchased the same as toffees with full knowledge of the contents of the label present in the packet, the petitioner, who admittedly had sold the same as hard boiled sugar confectionery, cannot be held liable. In case, therefore, the standard applicable for toffees had been applied by the Public Analyst while analysing the sample which had been sold by the petitioner as hard boiled sugar confectionery and the commodity was found below that standard prescribed for toffees, it cannot be said to be adulterated. When the container clearly contained an indication that the contents were hard boiled sugar confectionery, the standard applicable for hard boiled sugar confectionery had to be applied for analysing it in order to find if it was adulterated or otherwise. The sample having been analysed by applying a different standard, the conclusion that it was adulterated cannot be accepted.