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Vijendra v. The State of Uttar Pradesh

Criminal Appeal · 2019 INSC 845Decided 31 Jul 2019
Criminal Appeal No. 1167 of 2019
Justice R. Banumathi · Justice A.S. Bopanna

Background

A Food Inspector in Uttar Pradesh purchased a sample of buffalo milk from the appellant in 1979 for testing, and the Public Analyst's report found the sample deficient in milk fat and non-fatty solids, leading to a prosecution under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. The appellant was convicted by the trial court, and his conviction was upheld in revision by the Allahabad High Court decades later, in 2014. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which was eventually heard nearly four decades after the original sampling.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the Public Analyst's report was never proved to have been duly served on the appellant as required by law, and that there was no evidence establishing the milk sample had been properly stirred to achieve a homogenous mixture before testing: a step the Court noted was essential for a reliable fat-content reading, citing its own precedent on testing curd samples. The independent public witness to the purchase did not support the prosecution's version, leaving only the uncorroborated testimony of the Food Inspector himself, which the Court held was insufficient to sustain a conviction. Finding the prosecution had not proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the Court set aside the judgments of all three lower fora and acquitted the appellant.

Lesson Learnt

A conviction for food adulteration cannot rest on a lab report alone: the prosecution must also prove the sample was collected and tested by a proper procedure and that the report was actually served on the accused, and uncorroborated testimony from the complaining inspector is not enough if the independent witness fails to support the case.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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