Pranjivan vs Emperor

James, J.—The petitioner has been fined Rs. 100 u/s 3(2), Bihar and Orissa Act 2 of 1919 for selling ghee of a quality below that fixed by rule. It appears that the case which the petitioner was required to meet was this, that he sold unopened tins duly labelled as they were received from Manikjan Sunderji of a place in Gujrat. The ghee was found on analysis to be 22 per cent below the standard prescribed by rule under the Act but the petitioner said that he had purchased it on the understanding that it was good ghee and that he sold it in the same condition in which it had been received. The learned Magistrate observed that whether the petitioner dealt in unopened tins or not the onus lay upon him to prove that by using due care and attention he believed, such ghee to be genuine and since there was no evidence to show that he had made any attempt to ascertain the genuineness of the ghee, the petitioner was held liable for punishment u/s 3(2) of the Act.

Now when a person obtains goods from a reputable wholesale dealer and sells them in unopened tins duly labelled in the condition in which they were received he is not liable to be punished under the Bihar and Orissa Prevention of Food Adulteration Act unless there is reason to believe that he is not speaking the truth when he says that he believed the goods to be genuine. It would be unreasonable to hold that a person dealing as the petitioner did, with unopened tins received is due course from a reputable wholesale dealer, must prove that he made some experiment to test the quality of the ghee. The learned Magistrate remarked that it was the duty of the petitioner to examine with due care and attention whether the ghee was genuine or not, but it is not clear how he was to do this without opening the tins. Now in the present case there was nothing to show that the petitioner was not speaking the truth when he said that he purchased the ghee in tins believing it to be good, and in the circumstances I do not consider that he ought to have bean convicted. Accordingly I set aside the conviction and sentence on the petitioner, and direct that the fine if paid shall be refunded.