minal Appeal No 177 of 1963
Appeal from the judgment and order dated May 14 1963 of the Calcutta High Court in Criminal Appeal No 380 of 1962
section C Das Gupta and Sukumar Ghose for appellants
C K Daphtary Attorney General A N Sinha and P K Mukherjee for the respondent
The Judgment of MUDHOLKAR and SATYANARAYANA RAJU JJ was delivered by MUDHOLKAR J BACHAWAT J delivered a separate Judgment
Mudholkar J This is an appeal by certificate from a judg ment of the High Court of Calcutta setting aside the acquittal of Ms Baburally Sardar of Steward Hogg Market Calcutta appellant No 1 and of Abdul Razzak a partner of that firm appellant No 2 in respect of an offence under section 16 1 a i of the read with section 71 of that act
The facts which are not in dispute are briefly these  On June 1 1960 a Food Inspector of the Corporation of Calcutta visited the shop of the appellants
At that time Abdul Razzak was in charge
He took samples of Comela Brand condensed milk from the shop one of which was sent to the Public Analyst
Upon an analysis made by the Public Analyst the milk fat content of the condensed milk was found to be 34 which did not conform to the prescribed standard in respect of condensed milk
A complaint was thereupon lodged against the firm before the Municipal Magistrate and Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate 817 Calcutta
Apart from the firm five other persons including Abdul  Razzak were also named as accused persons
One of the accused persons Mohd Yasin did not appear but it was represented to the learned Magistrate that the person was not mentally fit
Thereupon the counsel for the Corporation gave him up
The other accused persons pleaded not guilty and were eventually acquitted by the Magistrate
Against that order an appeal was preferred before the High Court under section 417 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
The High Court however allowed the appeal only against the appellants but dismissed it against the remaining accused persons
The defence of the appellants was based upon section 192 of the Act and was briefly this  The tins of condensed milk were purchased by the firm on May 3 1960 from Messrs section Choudhury Brothers under a document of sale exhibit A
At that time the firm had demanded a warranty from the traders that is Messrs Choudhury Brothers but they did not furnish a written guarantee on the ground that a certificate and a warranty had been given on each tin of condensed milk
The appellants further pleaded that the tins were in the same condition in which they were when they were purchased from Messrs Choudhury Brothers and that they had no reason to believe that there was any alteration in their nature substance or quality subsequent to the purchase of the tins
It may be mentioned that an attempt was made to secure the appearance of section Choudhury of Messrs Choudhury Brothers but it failed because he could not be traced at the address given in the cash memo
Section 161 a i of the Act amongst other things pro vides that if any person whether by himself or by any person on his behalf stores or sells any article of food in contravention of any provisions of the Act or of the rules made thereunder he shall be punishable for the first offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year andor with fine which may extend to Rs 2000 or both
Section 2i defines the word adulterated
According to the definition an article of food shall be deemed to be adulterated in various circumstances one of which is where the quality or purity of the article falls below the pres cribed standard
In the Act prescribed means prescribed by the rules
Rule 5 of the Rules framed by the Central Government under section 231 of the Act read with section 42 thereof runs thus Standards of quality of the various articles of food specified in Appendix B to these rules as defined in that appendix
 818 The definition of standard of quality for condensed milk is give in A 1 107 of Appendix B and runs thus  Condensed milk means milk which has been con centrated from full cream milk by removal of part of its water with or without the addition of sugar and includes the article commonly known as evaporated milk  but does not include the article commonly known as dried milk  or milk powder 
It shall be free from preservatives other than sugar and contain at least 31 per cent of milk solids of which at least 9 per cent shall be fat
 As already stated the Public Analyst found that the fat content of the condensed milk was only 34 whereas the minimum prescribed in the Appendix is 9
It is therefore clear that the condensed milk stored by the appellants for sale was adulterated and therefore there was a breach of the provisions of section 161a i of the Act
In view of the provisions of section 191 it was not open to the appellants to contend that they were ignorant of the nature substance and quality of the condensed milk sold by them
Subsection 2 of section 19 however furnishes a defence to a vendor ignorant of the nature substance and quality of food sold by him provided he satisfies the requirements of that provision
Omitting the second proviso thereto which is not relevant in the present case sub section
2 of section 19 reads thus   2 A vendor shall not be deemed to have committed an offence if he proves i that the article of food was purchased by him as the same in nature substance and quality as that demanded by the purchaser and with a written warranty in the prescribed form if any to the effect that it was of such nature substance and quality ii that he had no reason to believe at the time when he sold it that the food was not of such nature substance and quality and iiithat he sold it in the same state as he purchased it  Provided that such a defence shall be open to the vendor only if he has submitted to the food inspector or the local authority a copy of the warranty with a written notice stating that he intends to rely on it and 819 specifying the name and address of the person from whom he received it and has also sent a like notice of his intention to that person
 The aforesaid defence was available to the appellants provided that they showed in the first place that what was stored by them for sale to purchasers demanding condensed milk was in fact milk which had been concentrated from full cream milk so as to conform to the standard of quality given in A 1 107 of Appendix B For it would be milk which satisfies the standard prescribed therein which can be regarded as condensed milk  under the Act
Upon analysis however it was found that the so called condensed milk contained in the samples taken by the Food Inspector from the appellants was far inferior to that prescribed for condensed milk
It could therefore not be regarded as the same in nature substance and quality as that demanded by the purchaser
Nor again had the appellant obtained a warranty in the prescribed form
Rule 12 A provides that every trader selling an article of food to a vendor shall deliver to the vendor a warranty in form 6 A if required to do so by the vendor
No such warranty was demanded by the appellants nor given by Messrs section Chaudhury Brothers
No doubt under the proviso to the aforesaid sub rule no warranty in the prescribed form is necessary if the label on the article of food or cash memo delivered by the trader to the vendor in respect of that article contains a warranty certifying that the food contained in the container or mentioned in the cash memo is the same in nature substance and quality as demanded by the vendor
Mr Das Gupta for the appellants says that the labels on the tins satisfy the requirements of the proviso and faintly suggested that the cash memo also satisfies the conditions
The contents of the label upon which reliance is placed by him are as follows   Comela  Full Cream sweetened condensed milk made on formula of Holland Product Comela Brand  The contents of the tin are scientifically preserved pure and produced from healthy Cow s milk
Comela full cream condensed milk easily digestable and are ideal food for babies
Special care is taken to maintain freshness Prepared by Kwality Diary
 This label contains no warranty of the kind referred to in the proviso
Moreover it is not even in the form given for a label 820 prescribed for Sweetened condensed milk
Under r 42 Bb the label prescribed is as follows CONDENSED FULL CREAM MILK Sweetened This tin contains the equivalent of  litres of milk with sugar added
It may be that the inscription on the prescribed label This tin contains an equivalent of  litres of milk with sugar added was meant to serve the purpose of a warranty though it is couched in different language
For it may be possible to ascertain by reference to standard tables the quantity of milk solids and fat from the quantity of milk condensed and from the quantity of condensed milk contained in the tin
It would not be possible even to do this on the basis of the particulars given on the labels borne on the tins which were taken as samples by the Food Inspector from the appellants
Mr Das Gupta strongly relied upon the words Full Cream and said that where condensed milk is said to have been obtained from full cream the requirements of law must be deemed to have been satisfied
For one thing Full cream has nowhere been defined in the Act or the rules
Moreover without knowing the quantity of Full cream which was condensed in the milk contained in each tin it is impossible even to calculate the quantity of milk solids and fat in each tin
The label therefore is of little assistance to the appellants
Moreover when a vendor accepts from the trader tins purported to be of condensed milk bearing a label of this kind he cannot be said to have had no reason to believe that it was not condensed milk of the prescribed nature substance and quality
It may be that the appellants sold them in the same state as they purchased them
But this fact is by itself not sufficient to absolve them
As for the so called cash memo it is sufficient to point out that all that it specifies is  Quantity Description Rate Per Amount 1 CC Comela Milk C 70 Case Rs 70 00 There is not a whisper of any warranty on it
In the circumstances therefore the High Court was right in setting aside the acquittal of the appellants and convicting them of the offence under section 1 6 1 a of the Act and sentencing them to pay fine of Rs 2000 each
The appeal is without merit and is dismissed
821 Bachawat J
The defence under section 192 of the cannot succeed as the appellants failed to prove that they purchased the articles of food with a written warranty in the prescribed form
The label on the tin container gave a description of the article of food but it did not give a warranty certifying that the food is the same in nature substance and quality as demanded by the vendor
In the absence of such a warranty the appellants have failed to establish the defence under section 19 2 read with R 12 a and Form VI A
Had there been such a written warranty on the label the appellants would have established the defence
I agree that the appeal be dismissed
Appeal dismissed


Summary:
Samples of a certain brand of tinned condensed milk were taken from the appellants  shop by the Food Inspector
The Public Analyst found the fat content of the condensed milk below standard
When prosecuted under section 161 a i of the the appellants took a plea based on section 192 of the Act and claimed that the label on the tins was a warranty within the meaning of that section as well as of the proviso to Rule 12 A
The label on the tins described the milk as Full cream sweetened condensed milk made on formula of Holland product  and inter alia said  The contents of the tin are scientifically preserved pure and produced from healthy cow s milk The trial Magistrate accepted the appellants  plea and acquitted them but on appeal by the State the High Court convicted them
They appealed to this Court with certificate
HELD  i Defence under section 192 of the Act was available to the appellants provided they showed in the first place that what was stored by them for sale to the purchasers demanding condensed milk was in fact milk which had been concentrated from full cream milk so as to conform to the standard of quality given in A 1107 of Appendix B For it would be milk which satisfies the standard prescribed therein which can be regarded as condensed milk  under the Act
Since however the milk stored by the appellants was found to be below standard it could not be regarded as the same in nature substance and quality as that demanded by the purchaser 
Nor again had the appellants obtained a warranty in the prescribed form
Thus the requirements of s19 2 i were not satisfied
819 B C ii No doubt under the proviso to Rule 12 A no warranty in the prescribed farm is necessary if the label on the article of food or cash memo delivered by the trader to the vendor in respect of that article contains a warranty certifying that the food contained in the container or mentioned in the cash memo is the same in nature substance and quality as demanded by the vendor
But the labels on the tins stared by the appellants contained no warranty of the kind referred to in the proviso
The labels were not in the form prescribed under r 42Bb and it was not possible from the matter printed thereon to ascertain by reference to standard tables the quantity of milk solids and fat from the quantity of milk condensed and from the quantity of condensed milk contained in the tin
819 D 820 D iiiThe words Full cream on the tin did not satisfy the requirements of the law either Full cream  has nowhere been defined in the Act or the rules
Without knowing the quantity of full cream  which 816 was condensed in the milk contained in each tin it was impossible even to calculate the quantity of milk solids and fat in each tin
The label therefore was of little assistance to the appellants
820 D E Similarly the cash memos carried no warranty whatsoever
iv When a vendor accepts from the trader tins purported to be of condensed milk hearing a label of the above kind he cannot be said to have had no reason to believe that it was not condensed milk of the prescribed nature substance and quality
It may be that the appellants sold the tins in the same state as they purchased them
But this fact was by itself not sufficient to absolve them
820 F Per Bachawat J The defence under section 192 of the Act could not succeed as the appellants failed to prove that they purchased the articles of food with a written warranty in the prescribed form
The label on the tin container gave a description of the article of food but it did not give a warranty certifying that the food was the same in nature substance and quality as demanded by the vendor
In the absence of such a warranty
the appellants had failed to establish the defence under section 192 read with r 12 A and Form VI A 821 A B