Holding

The appellant's disappearance from the shop amounted to prevention of the Food Inspector from taking a sample, and no further overt act is required under Section 16(1)(c) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.

Summary

A Food Inspector entered the appellant's grocery shop and demanded a sample of dhania for analysis. The appellant left the shop under the pretext of passing urine and did not return for about one and a half hours, after which the inspector took the sample in his absence. The appellant was charged under Section 16(1)(c) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 for preventing the inspector from taking a sample, convicted and sentenced to six months' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that the appellant's disappearance itself amounted to prevention of the inspector, and that no additional overt act was required to constitute the offence. Consequently, the Court dismissed the appeal and confirmed the conviction and sentence.

Issues considered

Whether the mere disappearance of a seller from his shop, without any other overt act, constitutes "prevention of the Food Inspector from taking a sample" under Section 16(1)(c) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
Whether an overt act beyond refusal to cooperate is necessary to attract liability under the same provision.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 313, s. 360
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954s. 10, s. 16(1)(c), s. 20AA

Subjects

Food adulterationSample takingPrevention of Food Adulteration ActObstruction of inspectionCriminal liabilitySupreme Court of India

Judgment

355
RAJINDER PERSHAD
A
v.

STATE OF HARYANA

July 11, 1983 B
[S. MURTAZA FAZAL Au. A VARADARAJAN AND M.P. THAKKAR JJ.]

Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954-Section 16(1) (c)-Food
Inspector sought t~ take Sample of Foodstuff-Disappearance of shopkeeper from ,
Shop-Whether amounts- to prevention from taking sampllf.
c
A Food Inspector visited ihe appellant's grocery shop and demanded a
sample of dhania for analysis. Leaving the shop on a false pretext, the /
appellant did not return to the shop for quite a long time. Thereupon after
following the requisite procedure the Food Inspector took a sample of dhan'ia
in the absence of the appellant.
D
On a charge under Section 16(1)(c) of the Prevention of Food Adulte-
ration Act, 1954 that the appellant had prevented the Food Inspector from
taking a sample of the article of food, the trial court convicted and sentenced
him. The conviction and sentence were .affirmed on appeal. The High Court
djsmissed his cri11_1inal ~evision petition.

In appeal to this Court it was contended that mere disappearance from E
the shop after the sample was demanded by _the Food In.spcctor, without any-:
thing more; did not constitute an offence of prevention of the Food Inspector
fro11_1 taking a sample.

Dismissing the appeal.

HELD : The appellant had been rightly convicted and sentenced under
F
s.161(1) (c) of the Act ... The appellant's disappearance from the shop for a
long time, amounted to prevention of the Food Inspector from taking a sample
in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the Rules. No other overt
act is necessary to constitute the offence. (361 F-H]

Municipai Board. Sambhal v. Jhaman Lat, AIR. 1961 All. 103; G
Mam Chand v. State, 1971. Crl. L. J. 1772; Habib Khan v. State of Madhya
Pradesh, 1971 M.P. L. J. 883, approved.

y Jagannath v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 1977 Cr!. L.J. 974; Narain Prasad
v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1978 Rajasthan 162 overruled.
H
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 615
ofl981.
356 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1983] 3 S.C.R.

Appeal by Special leave from the Judgment and Order dated
A the 6th May, 1981 of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in Criminal
Revision No. 562 of 1979.

Uma Dalla, T.C. Sharma and A.D. Malhotra for the Appellant.
R.N. Poddar for the Respondent.
B The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

VAR~DARAJAN. J. This appeal by special leave is directed against
the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana. High C:ourt, dismissing
Criminal Revision Case No. 562 of 1979 which was filed by the appel-
lant against the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon
c who affirmed the judgment of.the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurgaon
sentencing the appellant to rigorous imprisonment for six months and
a fine of Rs. 1,000 under s. 16 (1) (c) of the Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act, 1954 as amended from time to time.

D We dismissed the appeal and confirmed the conviction and
sentence on 5.4.1983 for re.asons to be givin later. We hereby give
the reasons.

The charge against the appellant was that when the Food
Inspector, Gurgaon, Sant Lal Anand (P.W.2) went to the appellant's
E grocery shop at Farrukh Nagar at about 4 p.m. on 27.8.1976 ·he pre-
vented P.W.2 from taking a sample of dhania from the stock kept for
sale by slipping away from the shop under some pretext. The case of
prosecution was that when the Food Inspector (P.W.2) ·visited the
appellant's grocery shop accompained ·by Dr. Aggarwal, Medical
Officer Incharge, Primary Health Centre, Farrukh Nagar (P.W.1)
F and Dr. Yadav, Chief Medical Officer (Health), Gurgaon (P.W.3).
the appellant was found to have stored 6 kgs .. of dhania for sale in
his shop. P.W. 2 disclosed his identity to the appellant and de-
manded a sample of the dhania for analysis and sought to serve the
notice Ex P /B and tendered Rs. 4.80 as the price of 600 gms. of
G dhania asked for. The appellant went away from the shop under the
pretext of passing urine without accepting the notice Ex. P/B or the
sum of Rs. 4.80 tendered by P.W.2 and he did not come back to the
shop though P.Ws: 1 to 3 waited there for about 1-} hours. There-
after P.W.2 took a sample from the shop in the absence of the appel-
H lant and prepared the spot memo Ex. P/A in the presence of P.Ws. I
and 3 and subsequently filed the complaint Ex: P/C in the Court of
the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurgaon against the appellant for
contravention of s.16 (l) (c) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration
•

RAJINDER v. HARYANA (Va;adarajan; J.) 357
Act, 1954 as amended, by preventing hlln from taking a sample of
the article of food. A
After the examination of P.Ws. I to 3 a charge was framed
against the appellant for the offence punishable under s. 16 (I) (c) of
the Act and he pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed to be
tried.

The prosecution relied on the evidence of P.Ws. I to 3 who
B
deposed to the facts mentioned above. The appellant stated when
examined under s. 313 Criminal Procedure Code, that he is .running
a cloth business at Delhi and had casually visited his father's grocery
shop at Farrukh Nagar·on 27.8 1976 when P.Ws. 1 to 3 came there
and he went to call his father Uggar Sain (D.W. 1) and came back c
to the shop alongwith D.W. I after about 6 or 7 minutes and that
P.Ws. I to 3 had gone from the shop by that time. The appellant
examined his father as D.W. I in his defence.
. ,.
The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurgaon who tried the
case· rejected the evidence of D:W. I as being interested and unreli· D
able and accepted the evidence of P.Ws. 1 to 3 of whom P.W. I,
however, could not identity the appellant as the person who went
away from the shop without accepting the notice and cash tendered
by P.W 2 and found, following judgment of the Punjab and Haryana
High Court in Krishan Lal & Ors. v. State of Haryana( 1) that the
E
appellant was guilty of having prevented the Food Inspector (P. W. 2)
from taking a sample of the article · of food by going away from the
. shop without accepting the notice and cash tendered by P.W. 2.
Accordingly, the learned Magistrate convicted the appellant and
sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months and
to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000 under s. 16 (I) (c) of the Act. F
The conviction and sentence were confirmed on appeal by the
learned Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon who found that the
appellant was more than 18 years of age at the time of commission
of the offence and was· therefore not entitled to the benefit of
s. 360 Cr. P.C. in view of s. 20 AA of the Act according to which G
s. 360 Cr. P.C. is not applicable to the case of the accused who was
more than 18 years of age at .the time of commission of the offence.
The Criminal Revision Case filed by the appellant in the Punjab and
Haryana High Court against the judgment of the learned Additional
Sessions Judge, Gurgaon was dismissed by S.S. Dewan, J. who.
confirmed the conviction and sentence. Hence, this appeal by special H
leave.
(I) [1978] 2 F.A.C, 144.
358 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1983]3 s.c.R.
)411
· The prevention of Food Inspector from taking a· sample of an '
A article of food as authorised by the Act i~ an offence punishable
under s. 16 (1) (c) with imprisonment for a term which shall not be
less than six months but which may extend to three years and with
fine which shall not be less than oµ thousand rupees. Mr.' Uma
D_atta, appellant's learned counsel invited our attention to paragraph
B 10 of the judgment of the learned Additional Sessions Judge,
Gurgaon where it has been found that the Food Inspector (P.W. 2)
had in fact taken a sample in the presence of P.Ws. I and 3. But this
must be noted that this was done after the appellant went away from
the shop under the pretext of passing urine and did not return for
about 1i hours, during which period P.Ws. 1 to 3 waited for him at
c the shop. The finding of fact that the appellant went away from the
shop under the pretext of passing urine when the Food Inspector
(P.W. 2) tendered the notice Ex. P/B and the cash of Rs. 4.80
for purchasing a sample of dhania and did not return for
about It hours, during which period P.Ws. I to 3 waited at the shop
for him cannot be canvassed in this apJJ!lal. The learned counsel for
D ' decisions and submitted
the appellant invited our attention to two
that the mere disappearance of the appellant from the shop after the f
sample was asked for by the Food Inspector without anything more •
did not amount to prevention of the Fo.od Inspector from taking the
sample. The first of those decisions is of C.P. Sen, J of the Madhya
E Pradesh High Court in Jagannath v. State of Madhya Pradesh(!) where
the facts found were that when the accussed was taking .5 litres of
milk iu his kothi for sale the Food Inspector stopped him as he
suspected the milk to be adulterated and asked him to accompany
him to the Municipal Office for taking a sample and that on reaching
the Municipal Office the accused bolted away leaving the kothi of
F milk, and the learned Judge held that the accused ·did not prevent the
Food Inspector from taking a sample simply because he bolted away
from the spot and that the Food Inspector was free to take the
sample from the kothi of milk left behind by the accussed even in
the absence of the accused. In holding so the learned Judge differed
G fr-0m the view taken in Municipal Board, Sambha/ v. Jhamman Lal(')
where it has been held that the disappearance of the seller from the
shop amounts to prevention of the Food Inspector from taking the
sample and that overt act OD the part Of the seller is not nec_essary to
constitute an offence under s. 16 (l)(b) of the Act as it then stood
H. which corresponds to the present s. 16 (1) (c). The second decisiop,

(1) 1977 Crl. L.J. 974.
\2) A.I.R. 1961 All. JO~,
RAJJNDER v. HARYANA (Varadarajan, J.) 359
relied upon by. the learned counsel of the appellant is of the Full
Bench of the Rajasthan High Court in Narain Prasad v. State of A
Rajasthan & Anr.(1) where Shrimal, J., speaking for the bench has
observed :

"Thus the consensus of the opinion of almost all the
High Court barring a few on the point is thats. 16 (I) (b) B
of the Act makes a person liable to punishment, who
prevents the Food Inspector from taking the sample as
authorised by the Act. Section 10 (!) (a) (i) gives . the
Inspector power to take sample of article of food from
any person seiling such article. Sub-sec. (2) of Sec. 10
gives the Food Inspector power to enter any place where c
the article of food is exposed for sale. Sub-sec. (4) of
Sec. I 0 provides for seizure of adulterated food. The
Inspector has also power to break open the door or any
package in which the article of food is kept. For all
the purposes the Inspector has ·power to exercise the D
power of search and seizure of a police .officer under the
Crl. P.C. The Food Inspector is also authorised to
exercise powers of a police officer under Section 57 of the
Code i.e. to arrest an offender, if he refuses to tell his
· name and residence. Section lJ prescribes the procedure
to be followed by the Food Inspector while taking sample. E
Therefore, the Food Inspector can follow one of the two
modes; one where the vendor co-operates, the other when
___. he refuses to co-operate. To prevent the Food Inspector
from taking a sample, the accused must do something
which makes it impossible for him to take the sample."
F
The learned Judges of the Full Bench appear to have held that
some overt act on the part of the seller apart from mere refusal to
sell the article of food to the. Food Inspector .is necessary. to con·
stitute an offence of prevention of the Food Inspector from taking
the sample. G

on· the other hand, Mr. R. N. Poddar, learned counsel
appearing for the State of Haryana, invited our attention to two
decisions and submitted that the conduct of the appellant in slipping H

(I) A.I.R. 1978 Rajasthan 16~.
360 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1983] 3 s.c.I\.

a':way from the shop when the Food Inspector disclosed his identity
A and a;ked for sale of a sample of dhania from his grocery shop,
amounts to prevention of the Food Inspector from taking the sample
as per the provisions of the Act. The first of those decisions is fo
H.C.P. Tripathi, J. in Mamchand v. State(') where the learned Judge
has observed :
B
"The sample had to be taken in accordance with the
provisions of the Act and Rules thereunder. As soon as
the owner of the milk disappeared frQm the scene the
Food Inspector could not' have obtained the sample as
required under law. By running away from the place the
c applicant did prevent the F6od Inspector from taking
sample as requiree under the Act though not from
ta!Cing away the entire quantity of the milk which the
Food Inspector could do in exercise of his powers under
Section 10 (iv) of the Act. In the case of Municipal
Board, Sambhal v. Jhtunman Lal (AIR 1961 All. 103), it
was held by a D.ivision Bench of !'his Court that if a
person· selling article leaves the shop he prevents Food
Inspector from taking sample as authorised by the Act.
In the instant case, the applicant left the milk, which he
was exposing for sale, and thereby prevented the Food
E Inspector from taking its sample."

A learned single Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has
taken a similar view in Habib Khan v. State of Madhya Pradesh.(')
Jn that case a milk vendor on being accosted by the Food Inspector
kept his milk can in the canteen and bolted away, and it has been
F held that the milk vendor prevented t'he Food Inspector from taking
the sample and thus committed an offence under s. 16 (1) (b) of t'he
Act as it stood than. The learned Judge has observed in his judg•
ment thus:

G "The power _of taking the sample has been conferred
on the Food Inspector so . that he may prosecute the
person found selling adulterated food stuff or found in
'i
-possession thereof for ·.the purposes of sale. Now, if a
person bolts away and thus his identity remains undis-

(1) 1971 Cr!. L.J. 1772.·
(2) 1971 M.P.l..J, 86J. _
li.A.i1NDER v. iIARYANA (Varadarajan, J.)

closed, the whole purp0se of the exercise of the power
· conferred under section IO on the Food Inspector is t A
defeated. In such a case, it will have to be held that in
bolting away the person prevented the effective exercise
of the power by the Food Inspector. If this is so, it is
difficult to see how the same action on the part of a
known person would make any difference. If he bolts
away, an additional burden will be cast on the Inspector
if he decides to prosecute him for selling or keeping for
sale adulterated food articles, to prove that the .person
who bolted away was the accused and that the article left
by him was in his possession. Witnesses may not be
available at the nick of the time an.d here, again, the result c
would be . the same. This is why it ls necessary to
interpret the two expressions "prevellts" and "in exercise
of the powers under the Act" in the manner luterpreated
by the Allahabad High Court in M unicipa/ Board,
Sarnbhal v. Jharnrnan Lal (supra)"; · .. D
We are of· the opinion that the view of the Allahabad High
Court expressed in Municipal Board, Sarnbha/ v. Jharnan Lal (supra)
reiterated in Mamchand v. State referred to above and taken by the
learned single Judge of Madhya Pradesh High Court in Habib Khan
v. State of Madhya Pradesh (supra) and the Punjab and Haryana E
High Court in the judgment under appeal in this case is the co.rrect
view and that appellant in this case who bolted away from the shop
under the pretext of passing urine when the Food Inspector (P.W. 2)
went to his shop alongwith P.Ws. I and 3 and disclosed his identity
and tendered the notice Ex. P /B and cash. of Rs, 4.80 and ·asked for
a sample of the dhania kept for sale in his grocery shop without
F
accepting the notice and the cash prevented the Food Inspector
(P.W. 2) from taking a sample in accordance with the provisions of
the Act and the Rules made thereunder and that no other overt act
is necessary on the facts of this case to constitute the offence for.
which the appellant has been convicted and sentenced and that he G
has been rightly convicted and sentenced by the Court below under
s. 16 (l) (c) of the Act. We accordingly, dismiss the appeal and
confirm the conviction of the appellant and the sentence awarded
to him.
H

P.B.R. Appeal dismissed.