Holding

"Supari" is not a "fruit‑product" nor a "flavouring agent" under the relevant rules, and the offence is strict liability, so the conviction stands.

Summary

The appellant, a small‑time tradesman, was convicted under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 for selling "Kesari coloured sweet supari sali" adulterated with a yellow basic coal‑tar dye. He argued that "supari" (betel nut) should be treated as a "fruit‑product" or a "flavouring agent" under Rules 23, 28 and 29 of the 1955 Rules, which would exempt the use of certain permitted coal‑tar colours, and that his bona‑fide belief entitled him to the benefit of doubt. The Supreme Court held that "supari" is neither a "fruit‑product" nor a "flavouring agent" within the meaning of Rule 29(f) and 29(m), and that the offence is one of strict liability where mens rea is irrelevant, so no benefit of doubt applies. The conviction and sentence were upheld, but the Court directed that the imprisonment be postponed pending the appellant's application for remission under Section 432 of the CrPC.

Issues considered

The classification of "supari" as a "fruit‑product" under Rule 29(f) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955
The classification of "supari" as a "flavouring agent" under Rule 29(m)
Whether a defendant acting on a plausible but erroneous interpretation of a penal statute is entitled to the benefit of doubt
Whether the offence under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act is a strict‑liability offence requiring no proof of mens rea
The appropriateness of remission of the custodial sentence under Section 432 CrPC

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 432
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954s. 16(1)(A)(i)
Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955s. 23, s. 28, s. 29(f), s. 29(m)

Subjects

Food adulterationStrict liabilityStatutory interpretationFruit‑productSupariBenefit of doubtRemission of sentencePenal legislation

Judgment

DINESHCHANDRA JAMNADAS GANDHI
A v.
STATE OF GUJARAT AND ANR.

JANUARY 17, 1989

B [RANGANATH MISRA AND M.N. VENKATACHALIAH, JJ.]

Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954: Section 16( l)(a) (i)/
Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955: Rules 23, 28, 29(f)
(prior to amendment dated November 15, 1984) and 29(m), Appendix
B item ]~Conviction for having sold 'kesari coloured sweet supari
sali' adulterated with yellow basic coal-tar dye-Validity of-Supari
c whether 'Fruit-product' or 'flavouring agent'.

Statutory Interpretation: Social defence legislation-Statutory
language-Distinction between literal and legal meaning-Court not
entitled to determine legal meaning of statute on principle of non-
D liquet-Penal provision prescribing strict liability-Wider meaning
impermissible.

Criminal Trial-Benefit of doubt-Where mere actus reus itself an
offence-Offence committed bonafide on a particular understanding of j
statute-Does not entitle the accused to benefit of doubt.
E
Words and Phrases: 'Supari'-'Fruit Product'-Meaning of.

Rule 23 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955 pro-
hibits the addition of any colouring matter to an article of food, except
as specifically permitted by the rules. Rule 28 interdicts use of coal-tar ~
F food colours or a mixture thereof, except those specifically enumerated
therein, in food. Item 2 of the said list includes 'sun-set yellow FCF'.
Rule 29 prohibits the use of even the coal-tar food colours permitted
under Rule 28, in or upon any food, other than those enumerated in
Rule 29. 'Fruit-products' was one such item of food so enumerated
under cl.(f) of Rule 29 as it stood at the relevant time. Section 16 of the
G Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 provides for punishment of
the offenders.

The appellant, a tradesman, was found guilty by the Trial Court
of the offence of selling 'Kesari-coloured sweet supari sali' adulterated
with yellow basic coal-tar dye and sentenced to one year's simple im-
H prisonment and a fine of Rs.2,000, both being statutorily compulsory
138
D.J. GANDHI v. STATE OF GUJARAT 139

j- minimum sentences under s. I6(l)(a)(i) of the Act. He was, however,
A
acquitted of the charge by the lirst appellate court but on appeal by the
State the High Court reversed the judgment of acquittal and restored
the conviction and sentence.

In this appeal by special leave, it was contended for the appellant
/It that the legislation being penal, the expression 'Fruit-products' in Rule B
29(f) should receive a reasonably liberal construction, and if so con-
strued, •supari' being basically and essentially an yield of the areca-
palm would reasonably admit of being considered such a fruit-product
'-~
·'
in which the use of coal-tar colours was not prohibited. In the alterna-
tive, it was contended that 'supari' in the form in which it was offered
' for sale in this case was a 'flavouring agent' within the meaning of Rule
29(m), in which case also the use of permitted coal-tar food colours was c
not prohibited. It was further contended that the appellant having acted
1 bona-Ji.de on a particular understanding of Rule 29(f) which could not
be said to be wholly implausible, he should be entitled to the benelit of
doubt. Lastly, a grievance was made that the appellant, who was a
small-time tradesman and had purchased the supari from a big D
manufacturer to sell in retail, had alone been exposed to prosecution
while the distributor had gone scot free.

J .. Dismissing the appeal,

HELD: I. I The scheme of Rule 23, 28 and 29 of the Prevention of E
Food Adulteration Rules, 1955 makes it apparent that coal-tar food
·:. colours permitted by Rule 28 can be used if the food articles in question
are 'Fruit-products' as understood in Rule 29(f). [144C, F]

} l.2 •Supari' in the form in which it was offered for sale in the
instant case though vegetative in origin and derived from and prepared F
out of the usufruct of areca palm, does not admit of being classilied as a
'Fruit-product' under Rule 29(f). Merely because a particular article of
food was of plant origin did not render that article necessarily a 'Fruit-
product'. Even products derived from, or associated in their origin with
fruits need not ipso facto be 'Fruit-products' for purposes and within
the meaning of Rule 29(f). Item 16 of Appendix B to the Rules, which G
..... dealt with 'Fruit-products', referred to juice, syrup, squash, beverage,
drinks, sauce, ketchup, relish, marmalade, chatni etc. That indicated
what were envisaged as 'Fruit-products' in Rule 29(f). 'Supari' also
does not admit of being classified as a 'flavouring agent' under Rule
29(m). I145F-H; 146A]
H
140 SUPREME COURT REPORTS 11989] 1 S.C.R.

2. The distinction between literal and legal meaning of statutory
A
language lies at the heart of the problem of interpretation of statutes.
the Court is not entitled to decline to determine the legal meaning of a
statute on the principle of non-Liquet. In the instant case, a wider con-
struction of 'Fruit-Products' in cl.(f) which is in the nature of exception
to Rule 29, results automatically in a corresponding narrower construc-
a tion of the substantive provision in Rule 29. This is not a case of reiiev-
ing provision excepting from the definition of an offence where the rule
of construction against doubtful penalisation operates. The offence is
really a violation of a prohibition imposed on a penalty as a social
defence mechanism in a socio-economic legislation. The construction
appropriate to such a legislation wonld be one which would suppress the
mischief aimed at and advance the remedy. It wonld, therefore, be a
c strain on the statutory language and the statutory scheme to include
'supari' in the form in which it was sold, within 'Fruit-products' as
understood in cl.(f) of Rule 29. IISOA-D I

Planters Nut and Chocolate Co. Ltd. v. The King, [1952] 1 WLR
D 385; Ramavatar Budhai Prasad v. The Assistant Sales Tax Officer, XII
StC 286; Municipal Corpn. v. Kacheroo Mal, 11976) 2 SCR 1(4);
Goodfellow v. Johnson, 11965] 1 All E.R. 941 and Criminal Law: Smith
& Hogan, 5th Edn. p. 92, referred to.

3.1 The question of what a word means in its context within the
E Act is a question of legal interpretation and, therefore, one of law. The
choice of the proper rule of construction to be applied to ascertain the
meaning is again a matter of law. To countenance the contention of the
appellant that he had acted bona fide on a particular understanding of
Rule 29(f) would he to contradict one of the fundamental postulates Of a
legal order that rules of law enforce objective meaning to be ascertained
F by the courts, and to substitute the opinion of the person charged with
the breach of the law for the law itself. Otherwise, the consequence
would be that whenever a defendant in a criminal case thought that the
law was thus and so, he is to be treated as though the law was thus and
so, that is, the law actually is thus and so. IISOD-G I

G United States v. Wurzbach, [1930) 280 US 396 (ti) 399; Criminal
Law: Smith & Hogan, 5th Edu. p. 70, referred to. ·

3.2 The statute prescribes a strict liability without need to
establish mens rea. The actus reus is itself an offence. There might be
cases where some mental element might be a part of the actus reus itself.
H This is not one of those cases Where anything mote than the mere doing
D.J. GANDHI v. STATE OF GUJARAT 141

of the prescribed act requires to be proved. The appellant is, therefore, A
not entitled to the benefit of doubt. [151F]

v.
Pyarali K. Tejani M.R. Dange, [1974] 2 SCR 154; Goodfellow
v. Johnson, [1965] 1 All E.R. 941; Smedleys Limited v. Breed, [1974]
All ER 21 and Criminal Law: Smith & Hogan, 5th Edn. p. 92, referred
8
to.

4. The big offenders who manufactured the 'supari' and who
distributed them to the retailer in the instant case have gone scot free.
The offence was committed. ten years ago and the appellate court had
acquitted the appellant. Furthermore, the expression 'Fruit-produ«js'
in Rule 29(f) in the context of what the delegated legislative authority C
really meant and wanted to convey was not a model of precision and has
since been deleted enumerating in its place precisely the specific pro-
ducts in which ·the food-colours permitted by Rule 28 could be used,
leaving no room for the possibility of any argument of the kind ad-
vanced in this case. [153D·E, F]
D
This is, therefore, a lit case in which the appropriate Government
should exercise its executive powers of remission of the substantive
sentence of imprisonment, though not of fine, under s. 432 Cr. P .C. or
;A..• under other law appropriate to the case. The imposition of the substan-
tive sentence of imprisonment on the appellant to be postponed till his E
prayer for remission, which he shall make, is considered and disposed
of. [153G-H; 154A-Bi

Ganeshmal Jashraj v. Govt. of Gujarat and Anr., [1980] I SCR
1114 and lnderjeet v. U.P. State, [1980] I SCR 255, referred to.
} CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
F
No. 26 of 1989.

From the Judgment and Order dated 17.4.1984 of the Gujarat
High Court in Crl. Appeal No. 1097 of 1980.
G
V.B. Ganatra and V.N. Ganpule for the Appellant.

"'· Girish Chandra, M.N.. Shroff and M.N. Goswami for ·the
Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court Was delivered by
H
142 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989) 1 S.C.R.

A VENKATACHALIAH, J. By this petition for grant of Special
Leave under Article 136 of the Constitution, coming up after notice to
the State of Gujarat, the applicant seeks leave to appeal to this Court
from the judgment of the High Court of Gujarat in Criminal Appeal
· No. 1097 of 1980 restoring the conviction and sentence passed by the
Chief Judicial Magistrate, Valsad, against the petitioner in Criminal
B Case of 48 of 1979 for an offence under the Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act 1954. ('Act' for short)

Special Leave is granted and the appeal is taken up for final
hearing, heard and disposed of by this judgment.

2. Appellant was charged before the Chief Judicial Magistrate,
C Valsad, by the Food Inspector, Navasari Municipality, with the
offence of selling "Kesari coloured sweet supari sali" alleged to have
been adulterated with "Yellow basic coal-tar dye". The learned
Magistrate found the appellant guilty of the offence and imposed a
sentence of an year's simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs.2,000, both
D of which were the statutorily compulsory minimum sentences under
Section 16(1)(A)(i) of the Act.

Learned Sessions Judge, Valsad, by his judgment, dated
14.3.1980, in Criminal Appeal 32 of 1979 preferred by the appellant,
however, set-aside the conviction and sentence and acquitted the
E appellant of the charge.

On further appeal by the State against the said acquittal, the
High Court of Gujarat allowed the State's appeal and, in reversal of
the judgment of acquittal of the learned Sessions Judge, restored the
conviction and sentence passed by the learned Chief Judicial
F Magistrate.

3. Appellant is a tradesman carrying on business within the
limits of Navsari Municipality. On 7.12.1978, respondent No. 2, the
food inspector of Navsari Municipality, purchased from the appellant
600 gms. of "kesari coloured sweet supari sali" and after complying
G with the procedural formalities packed and sealed the "supari" into
three separate packages of 200 gms. each and one of them was sent to
the Public-Analyst who by his report dated 20.12.1978 (Ext. 12) af- )'!'
firmed that the sample contained a "yellow basic coal-tar dye" and
that it did not conform to the standard laid down under the Rules. On
19. 1.1979, the Food Inspector with the prior sanction of the District
H Health Officer, Valsad, (Exh. 14), filed a complaint in the Court of the
D.J. GANDHI v. STATE.OF GUJARAT [VENKATACHALIAH, J.J 143

Chief Judicial Magistrate, Valsad. The prosecution culminated, as A
aforesaid; in the conviction and sentence imposed by the learned Chief
Judicial Magistrate, and later restored by the High Court. Appellant
now seeks to assail the legality of the conviction.

4. We have heard Sri V.B. Ganatra, learned counsel for the
appellant and Sri Girish Chandara and Sri M.V. Goswami, learned B
counsel for Respondents 1 and 2, respectively. Though a number of
grounds are taken in the memorandum of the Petition for special
leave, however, at the hearing Sri Ganatra confined his submission
only to one aspect of the matter which, if accepted as correct, would go
to the root of the case for the prosecution. Apparently, this contention
in the form in which it is presented here was not placed before the C
High Court as we find no reference to it in the judgment.

Appellant's Learned Counsel contended that "Supari" or
"Betel-nut" is basically and essentially an yield of the Areca-Palm and
must, therefore, be held to fall under "Fruit-products" within the
meaning of Rule 29(f) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, D
1955, ('Rules' for short) and, accordingly, the use of permitted coal-tar
food-colours in it is not prohibited by law. It was further urged that the
Public-Analyst had not held that the "Yellow basic coal-tar dye'',
found in the sample, was not one of those food colours prohibited
under Rule 28 and that, therefore, its use in "supari" which was a
"Fruit-product" cannot be said to be prohibited. Alternatively, Sri E
Ganatra contended that the "supari" in this case was a "flavouring
agent" within the meaning of Rule 29(m) in which case also the use of
permitted coal-tar food-colours, was not prohibited.

On the contentions urged at the hearing, the points that fall for
consideration are, first, whether the "supari" concerned in this case F
was a "Fruit-product" or, alternatively, a "Flavouring-Agent" within
the meaning of Rule 29(f) or (m) respectively and, accordingly, the use
in it of permitted coal-tar dyes or food-colours was not prohibited and,
secondly, whether, even if, after an elaborate enquiry, it was held that
"supari" was not a "Food-product" appellant having acted bonafide
on a possible and not an unreasonable view of the nature and classifi- G
cation of the goods, was, at all events, entitled to the benefit of the
doubt. ·

5. It was not disputed that supari was an article of food. It was so
held in Pyarali K. Tejani v. M.R. Dange, [1974] 2 SCR 154. It was also
not disputed that if "supari" did not admit itself of being classified H
144 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989) I S.C.R.

A under "Fruit--products" or under "Flavouring-Agents" under Rule .-\·
29(f) or 29(m) respectively, the use in "supari" of even a coal-tar
food-colours permitted under rule 28 would amount to adulteration.

The argument that "Supari'.. or "Betel-nut" is a "Flavouring-
Agent" has clearly no substance. The first contention, therefore, nar-
B rows itself down to whether "supari" in the form in which it was
offered for sale though vegetative in origin and is derived from the
usufruct of areca-palm, can be said to be a "Fruit-Product" in the
sense in which that expression is used and is required to be understood
in Rule 29{f).

To appreciate Sri Ganatra's contention, the scheme of the re-
c levant rules, in particular rules 23, 28 and 29, requires notice. Rule 23
prohibits the addition of any colouring matter to any article of food
,..
I

except as specifically permitted by the rules. Rule 28 provides that no
coal-tar food-colour or a mixture thereof, except the food colours
specifically enumerated in rule 28, shall be used in food. Item 2 of the
D list of food-colours permitted under Rule 28 includes 'Sun-set Yellow
FCF'. We shall proceed on the premise that the basic yellow coal-tar
dye found in the "supari" by the Public-Analyst is amongst those
enumerated food-colours excepted from the prohibition under Rule 28
and is, therefore, permitted to be used. Then, Rule 29 prohibits the
use of even the coal-tar food-colours permitted under rule 28 in or
E upon any food other than those enumerated in rule 29. "Fruit-Pro-
ducts" is one such item of food so enumerated under clause (f) of rule·
29. The result is that permitted coal-taar food-colours, i.e. food-
colours permitted by Rule 28, can be used if the food-articles in ques-
tion are "Fruit-Products" as understood in Rule 29{f). But this excep-
tion from prohibition, in favour of "Fruit-Products" is further subject
F to such exceptions or restrictions as are otherwise made in Appendix
'B'. Sri Ganatra's contention is that there having been no provision
otherwise made in Appendix 'B' in respect of supari and supari being
includible in "Fruie-Products", the.use in it of permitted coal-tar food-
colours is prohibited. Shri Ganatra submits that the legislation being
penal the expression "Fruit-Products" in rule 29(f) should receive a
G reasonably liberal construction and that, so construed, "supari" would
reasonably admit of being considered such a "Fruit-Product".

6. We have _had our attention drawn by Sri Ganatra to certain
passages in 'Common Trees of India' by Dr. Santa tau (at page 111 ); in
"Wealth of _India Raw-Materials" Vol. I A (pages 390, 402-03) and
H certain passages in the 'Dravya Guna Vignyan' (Part II & III: at page
D.J. GANDHI v. STATE OF GUJARAT IVENKATACHALIAH, J.] 145

-f··· 672). in support of Sri Ganatra's contention that "Supari" or "Betel- A
nut" being the usufruct of "Areca" tree must be held to be a "Fruit-
Product". Sri Ganatra says that having regard to the accepted cannons
of construction approcriate to penal-statutes, "supari" or "Betel-nut"
which was derived from the usufruct of Areca-palm admits of being
classified amongst "Fruit-Products" in Rule 29(f). At all events, says
learned counsel, such a construction being a plausible one, the appel- B
!ant who had conducted his affairs on such a plausible meaning of the
statute should be entitled to the benefit of the doubt.

In Encyclopaedia Britannica (Vol. 3, p. 551) with reference to
"Betel·nut" it is mentioned:

"The name betel is applied to two different plants which in
c
the east are very closely associated in the purposes to which
they are applied. The betel nut is the fruit of the areca or
betel palm (Areca catechu) ..... "

"For chewing, the fruits are annually gathered between the D
months of August and November, before they are quite
ripe, and deprived of their husks. They are prepared by
boiling in water, cutting up into slices and drying in the sun,
by which treatment the slices assume a dark brown or black
colours ...... ''
E
" ..... Betel nuts are used as a source of inferior catechu
(g. v.); its chief alkaloid is arecoline, to which anthelmintic
properties are attributed. The drug finds some use in
veterinary medicine as an anthelmintic."

There is no dispute that "supari" is derived from and prepared out of F
the usufruct of the Areca-palm. But the question as to what is the
context of the idea of "Fruit-Products" in Rule 29(f) .

. 7. The argument, no doubt, is somewhat attractively presented;
but we are afraid, it is more attractive than sound. The fact that a
particular ar.!icle of food, as indeed .most of the articles of food of G
vegetative origin are, was of plant origin did not render that article
necessarily a "Fruit-Product". Even. products derived from, or
associated in their origin with fruits need not ipso facto be "Fruit-
Products" for purposes and within the meaning of rule 29(f). What
were envisaged as "Fruit-Products" in rule 29(f), will be indicated by
the array of items dealt with in Appendix 'B' under -item 16-"Fruit- H
146 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 1 S.C.R. I
A Products"-though the list was in the nature of an exception of R.29.
Under the relevant head in Appendix 'B' items referred are: "Fruit
Juice"; "'Tomato Juice"; "Fruit Syrup"; "Fruit Squash"; "Fruit
*•
•
Beverage" or "Fruit Drinks"; "Tomato Sauce"; "Tomato Ketchup";
"Tomato Relish"; "Marmalade"; Fruit Chatni" and "Sauce" etc.

B The object and the purpose of the Act are to eliminate the '¥
danger to human life from the sale of unwholesome articles of food.
The legislation is on the Topic 'Adulteration of Food Stuffs and other
Goods' [Entry 18 list III Seventh Schedule]. It is enacted to curb the
wide spread evil of food adulteration and is a legislative measure for
social-defence. It is intended to suppress a social and economic
mischief-an evil which attemps to poison, for monetary gains, the
c very sources of sustenance of life and the well-being of the community.
The evil of adulteration of food and its effects on the health of the
community are assuming alarming proportions. The offence of adul-
teration is a socio-economic offence. In Municipal Corpn. v. Kacheroo
Mal, [1976] 2 SCR 1(4) Sarkaria, J. said:
D
"The Act has been enacted to curb and remedy the wide-
spread evil of food-adulteration, and to ensure the sale of
wholesome food to the pl!ople. It is well-settled that where-
ver possible, without unreasonable stretching or straining
the language of such a statute, should be construed in a
E manner which would suppress the mischief, advance the
remedy, promote its object, prevent its subtle evasion and
foil its artful circumvention ..... "
(Emphasis Supplied)

The construction appropriate to a social defence legislation is,
F therefore, one which would suppress the mischief aimed at by the
legislation and advance the remedy.

8. The offences under the 'Act' are really acts prohibited by the
police-powers of the State in the interests of public-health and well-
being. The prohibition is backed by the sanction of a penalty. The
G offences are strict statutory offences. Intention or mental-state is ir-
relevant. In Goodfellow v. Johnson, [1965] 1 All E.R. 941 at 944
referring to the nature of offences under the Food and Drugs Act,
1955, it was said:

"As is well known, s. 2 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1955,
constitutes an absolute offence. If a person sells to the
D.J. GANDHI v. STATE OF GUJARAT [VENKATACHALIAH, J.[ 147

prejudice of the purchaser any food, and that includes A
drink, which is not of the nature or not of the substance or
not of the quality demanded by the purchaser he shall be
guilty of an offence. The forbidden act is the se!Jing to the
prejudice of the purchaser .... "

Smedleys Limited v. Breed, [1974] All ER 21 is a case, both B
interesting and ilfustrative. Smedleys Ltd. were manufacturers of can-
ned peas of repute. Out of the three and a half million tins of peas the
company produced in the year 1971, only 4 complaints were received
~__) about the presence of extraneous-matter in the tins. One of them had
been purchased by a certain Mrs. Voss from a well known stores. On
opening the tin, Mrs. Voss found a small farva of a moth in the tin. The
commendable civic zeal of Mrs. Voss who reported the larva infesta-
c
'." tion of the peas to the local authority had the effect of arraigning
Smedleys Ltd. before court on charge of violation of the Food and
Drugs Act, 1955. Section 3(3) of the Act enabled a defence which the
company raised that the extraneous-matter was "an unavoidable con-
sequence of the process of collection or preparation" The company, it D
would appear from the facts appearing in the report, had installed and
elaborate system of spot-checking of the peas by mechanical screen-
\ ing-process before canning which eliminated extraneous-matter of
.Jo., significantly higher or lower specific-gravity than that of the peas. This
process was also strengthened and supplemented by visual-inspections
by properly trained and experienced employees who worked for short E
periods· to enable sustained concentration along the conveyer-belt
carrying the peas to the canning site. To the strange ill luck and embar-
rassment of Smedleys the larva' which had a specific-gravity and size
similar to that of the peas beat the screening-machine and also
-.} • managed, by virtue of its colour and shape, to escape the surveillance
· of the alert visual-inspectors, who, it is said, were also paid a bonus if F
they detected and extracted any extraneous-matter. The peas, inciden-
tally, would be pressure-cooked for 20 minutes at 250°F which, would
render the larva harmless to human health even if consumed. The
company contended that the existence of the larva was despite every
possible precaution and was "an unavoidable consequence of the pro-
cess of collection and preparation" within the meaning of Section 3(3) G
..f._. of the Act. The defence did not succeed. Smedleys as well as the seller
were convicted. The House of Lords confirmed the conviction. Lord
I Hailsham said:

" This innocent insect, thus deprived of its natural
destiny, was in fact entirely harmless, since, prior to its H
148 SUPREME COURT REPORTS 11989] 1 S.C.R.

entry into tin, it had been subjected to a cooking process of
A
20 minutes duration of 250'F, and, had she cared to so,
Mrs. Voss could have consumed the caterpillar without in-
jury to herself, and even, perhaps, with benefit ........ "
Ip. 24]

B "Thereafter, the caterpillar achieved a sort of posthumous j
apotheosis. From local authority to the Dorchester magis-
trates, from the Dorchester magistrates to a Divisional
Court presided over by the Lord Chief Justice of England,
from the Lord Chief Justice to the House of Lords, the
immolated insect has at length plodded its methodical way
to the highest tribunal in the land. It now falls to me to
c deliver my opinion on its case."
Ip. 24]

Referring to the nature of the penalties under laws against food
adulteration, Lord Chancellor said:
D
"My Lords, as has been pointed out by my noble and
learned friend, Lord Diplock, the expression 'absolute
offence' is imprecise. Clearly the offence contemplated in
s. 2(1) of the Food and Drugs Act 1955 is an absolute .-A
offence if all that is.meant by that is an absence of mens

-
E rea. It is one of those offences described by Wright J in
Sherras v. De Rutuzen which 'are not criminal in any real
sense, but are acts which in the public interest are pro-
hibited under a penalty'." ·
Ip. 26]

F Confirming the conviction, Lord Chancellor held:
\
" ..... sympathise as one may with a manufacturer with a
reputation and record as excellent as that of the appellants,
to construe the Food & Drugs Act 1955 in a sense less strict
than that which I have adopted would make a serious in
G road on the legislation for consumer protection which
Parliament has adopted and by successive Acts extended, ,,\--
over a period, now, of more than a century ..... "

H
In Pyarali K. Tejani v. Mahadeo Ramchandra Dange, [1974] 2
[p.29]

SCR 154 this court held that what constitutes the offence under the
"
;) D.J. GANDHI v. STAIB OF GUJARAT [VENKATACHALIAH, J.J 149

'Act' is nothing more than the 'actus reus' and mens-rea need not
A
separately be established.

In Criminal Law by J.C. Smith & Brian Hogan, (5th Edn.),
... referring to offences in their social-context the authors say: -

"The courts are greatly influenced in their construction of B
the statute by the degree of social' danger which they be-
~ lieve to be involved in the offence in question. They take
judicial notice of the problems with which the country is
i_ I confronted. The greater the degree of social danger, the
-~
more likely is the offence to be interpreted as one of strict
'
liability. Inflation, drugs, road accidents and pollution are C
constantly brought to our attention as pressing evils; and in
each case the judges have at times invoked strict liability as
a protection for society."
[p.92)

9. We now come to the specific question whether "supari" is D
includible under "Fruit-Products" under rule 29(f). Sri Girish Chandra
says that in arriving at the meaning of "Fruit-Products", it is not the
technical or scientific sense, but the sense as understood in common-
parlance that matters. That sense is one Sri Girish Chandra says,
which people conversant with the subject matter with which the statute
is dealing would attribute to it. The words must be understood, says E
counsel, in their popular sense, in their common commercial under-
standing, "for the .legislature does not suppose our merchant to be
naturalists or geologists or botanists."

_)·. The standard of the test for ascertaining the meaning of words in
common-paralance is set by the Candanian case in Planters Nut and F
Chocolate Co. Ltd. v. The King, [1952) 1WLR385:

"Would a house-holder when asked to bring home fruits or
vegetables for the evening meal bring home salted Peanuts,
cashew-nuts or nuts of any sort? The answer is obviously
'No'." G

~ This test has been referred to with approval by this court.
[See: Ramavatar Budhai Prasad v. The Assistant Sales Tax Officer,
(XII STC 1286)1 Sri Girish Chandra says that in the context of the
Indian House-holder we may, with justification, add Betel-nut to the
list of salted pea-nuts, cashew nuts etc. H
150 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 1 S.C.R.
A 10. The distinction between literal and legal meaning of statut-
ory language lies at the heart of the problem of interpretation of
statutes. The court is not entitled to dec)ine to determine the legal
meaning of a statute on the principle 'non-liquet'. In the present case,
a wider construction of "Fruit-Products" in clause (f) which is in the
B nature of exception to Rule 29 results automatically in a corresponding
narrower construction of the substantive provision in Rule 29. This is
not a case of a relieving provision excepting from the definition of an 'f
offence where the Rule of construction against doubtful penalisation
operates. The offence is really a violation of a prohibition imposed on
a penalty as a social-defence mechanism in a socio-economic legisla-
tion. No form of words have ever yet been framed, with regard to
c which some ingenious counsel could not suggest a difficulty. But in the
context of the present statute, it would be a strain on the statutory
language and the statutory-scheme to include "supari" in the form in y
which it was sold, within "Fruit-Products" as unerstood in clause (f) of
Rule 29. The first contention has, accordingly, no substance.
D
11. The second contention is that petitioner had acted bona fide
on a particular understanding of the Rule 29(f) which could not be said
to be wholly implausible and that, therefore, even if that understand-
ing is found to be defective, he should be entitled to the benefit of the
doubt. The question of what a word means in its context within the
E 'Act' is a question of legal interpretation and, therefore, one of law . .~
The choice of the proper rule of construction to be applied to ascertain
-
F
the meaning is again a matter of law. To countenance the contention of
Sri Ganatra would be to "contradict one of the fundamental postulates
of a legal order that Rules of law enforce objective meanings to be
ascertained by the courts" and to "substitute the opinion of the person
charged with the breach of the law for the law itself." Otherwise, the _,\
-
consequence would be that whenever a defendant in a criminal case· 'r-
"thought that the law was thus and so, he is to be treated as though the
law was thus and so, that is, the iaw actually is thus and so". [See
Criminal Law: Smith & Hogan p. 70]. Justice Holmes in United States
v. Wurzbach, [1930 I 280 US 396 at 399 said:
G
"Wherever the law draws a line there will be cases very
near each other on opposite sides. The precise course of
the line maybe uncertain, but no one can come near it ..Jr"
without knowing that he does so, if he thinks, and if he
does so it is familiar to the criminal law to make him take
H the risk."
D.J. GANDHI v. STATE OF GUJARAT IVENKATACHALIAH, J.J 151

Referring to the principles that guide the matter, learned authors A
in Criminal Law (Smith & Hogan) say:

" ..... for, in the great majority of cases, it is irrelevant
whether he knows it or not. It must usually be proved that
D intended to cause, or was reckless whether he caused, B
the event or state of affairs which, as a matter of fact, is
forbidden by law; but it is quite immaterial to his convic-
tion (though it may affect his punishment) whether he
knew that the event or state of affairs was forbidden by law
"
[p.68]
c
It was held that a Frenchman might be guilty of
murder in the course of duelling in England, even if he did
not know that duelling was against English law ..... "
[p.68]
D
12. The plea in the last analysis reduces itself to one of ignorance
of the law. This would be no justification. Ten thousand difficulties, it
is said, do not make a doubt. As the learned authors (supra) put it.
"One who, being ignorant of the law, sells goods at a price in excess of
J. the miximum fixed by the statute, could hardly be said to have been
led astray by his conscience while the 'harm prescribed' lacks objective E
wrongness''.

. The Statute we are concerned with prescribes a strict liability,
without need to establish Mens Rea. The Actus Reus is itself the
offence. There might be cases where some mental element might be a
} part of the Actus Reus itself. This is not one of those cases where F
· • anything more than the mere doing of the prescribed act requires to be
proved. There is thus no merit in the second point either.

The appeal would, therefore, require to fail. The sentence,
which is the statutory minimum, cannot also be lightened by the court.
But there is one poignant aspect on which learned counsel made an
G
impassioned plea.

~ 14. Sri Ganatra pointed out the hardship of a small-time
tradesmen who, as here, purchase the goods from big manufacturers
and sell them in retail. Very often, the manufacturers or wholesalers
are not touched,. but the small fry are exposed to prosecution. H
152 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1989) 1 S.C.R.

A Indeed in Ganeshmal Jashraj v. Govt. of Gujarat and Anr., -\,
(1980) 1SCR1114 Bhagwati, J. had occasion to say:

" ..... It is common knowledge that these small tradesmen
purchase the food stuff sold by them from the wholesalers

4
B and sometimes even directly from the manufacturers and
more often than not the adulteration is made either by the -J
wholesalers or by the manufacturers. Ordinarily it is not the •
small retailers who adulterate the articles of food sold by
them. Yet it is only the small retailers who are caught by the
food inspectors and the investigative machinery of the food
department does not for some curious and inexplicable ,
c reason turn its attention to the wholesalers and manufac-
tures. The small tradesmen who eke out a precarious exis-
tence living almost from hand to mouth are sent to jail for y
selling food stuff which is often enough not adulterated by
them and the wholesalers and manufacturers who really
D adulterate the food stuff and fatten themselves on the
misery of others escape the arm of the law ..... "
[p.1117]

" ..... The result is that a wrong impression is being created
on the public mind that the law is being properly enforced, ~
E whereas in fact what is really happening is that it is only the
small tradesmen who are quite often not themselves res-
ponsible for adulteration who are caught and sent to jail
while there is no effective enforcement of the law against the
real adulterators. This is a failing which we notice in the
implementation of many of our laws. It is only the smaller
F fl~es which get caught i~, the web of these law while the~
bigger ones escape .....
[p. 1118]

" The implementation of the law does create an
impression that it is a law meant to be operative only
against the smaller men and that the rich and the well-to-do
G
are beyond its reach. Moreover the law operates very
harshly against the small tradesmen because a minimum
sentence is provided and the small tradesmen are liable to be ) \
sent to jail ..... "
Ip. 1118-91
H (Emphasis Supplied)
D.J. GANDHI v. STATE OF GUJARAT (VENKATACHAL!AH, J.J 153

Krishna Iyer, J. in Inderjeetv. U.P. State, [1980) 1SCR255 said:
A

"~, ... We are disturbed that it is possible that small men
become the victims of harsh law when there is no excutive
policy which guides prosecution of offenders ..... "
Ip. 2571
B

" .... . Even otherwise, there is a general power in the
Executive to commute sentences and such power can be put
into action on a principled basis when small men get caught
by the law."
[p. 257)
(Emphasis Supplied)
c

The present case, as Sri Ganatra rightly pointed out, is one where·
bigger offenders who manufactured the supari and who distributed
them to the retailers have gone scot-free. Unfortunately, appellant did
not, and perhaps could not, invoke the benevolent provisions of Sec-
D
tion 19(2) of the Act. The offence was ten years ago and the appellate
court had acquitted the appellant. The expression "Fruit-Products" in
the context of what the Delegated legislative authority really meant
and wanted to convey, was not a model of precision. The degree of
precision should be such that not only those who read it in good-faith
understand but also that those who read it in bad faith do not E
,. misunderstand.

. Indeed this somewhat imperfect definition of "Fruit-Products"
J . in Rule 29(f) has since been amended enumerating precisely the
specific products in which the food-colours permitted by Rule 28 could F
be used leaving no room for the possibility of any argument of the kind
advanced in this case. This amendment which came into force with
effect from 15 .11.1984 deleted the expression "Fruit-Products" and in
its place specifically enumerated the items under Rule 29(f) in which
the use of permitted coal-tar food-colours was allowed.
G
__.._ It is for these reasons that we think we should hold that this is a
' ·- fit case in which the appropriate-Government should exercise its
executive powers of remission of the substantive sentence of imprison-
ment-though not of the fine-under Section 432 Cr. P.C. or under
other law appropriate to the case. We, therefore, direct that the H
154 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 1 S.C.R.

A imposition of the substantive sentence of imprisonment shall be post-
poned till appellant's prayer for remission, which appellant shall make
within a month from now before the appropriate Government or
Authority, is considered and disposed of taking into account the obser-
vations made in this judgment.
B
15. Subject to these circumstances, the appeal is dismissed.

P.S.S. Appeal dismissed. j

J

\
.r'