The public analyst shall deliver, in such form as may be prescribed, a report to the Local Health Authority of the result of the analysis of any article of food submitted to him for analysis. 3 1 The public analyst shall deliver, in such form as may be prescribed, a report to the Local Health Authority of the result of the analysis of any article of food submitted to him for analysis.
On receipt of the report of the result of the analysis under sub-section 1 to the effect that the article of food is adulterated, the Local Health Authority shall, after the institution of prosecution against the persons from whom the sample of the article of food was taken and the person, if any, whose name, address and other particulars have been disclosed under section 14A, forward, in such manner as may be prescribed, a copy of the report of the result of the analysis to such person or persons, as the case may be, informing such person or persons that if it is so desired, either or both of them may make an application to the court within a period of ten days from the date of receipt of the copy of the report to get the sample of the article of food kept by the Local Health Authority analysed by the Central Food Laboratory.
2A When an application is made to the court under sub-section 2 , the court shall require the Local Health Authority to forward the part or parts of the sample kept by the said Authority and upon such requisition being made, the said Authority shall forward the part or parts of the sample to the court within a period of five days from the date of receipt of such requisition.
2B On receipt of the part or parts of the sample from the Local Health Authority under sub-section 2A , the court shall first ascertain that the mark and seal or fastening as provided in clause b of sub-section 1 of section 11 are intact and the signature or thumb impression, as the case may be, is not tampered with, and despatch the part or, as the case may be, one of the parts of the sample under its own seal to the Director of the Central Food Laboratory who shall thereupon send a certificate to the court in the prescribed form within one month from the date of receipt of the part of the sample specifying the result of the analysis.
2C Where two parts of the sample have been sent to the court and only one part of the sample has been sent by the court to the Director of the Central Food Laboratory under sub-section 2B , the court shall, as soon as practicable, return the remaining part to the Local Health Authority and that Authority shall destroy that part after the certificate from the Director of the Central Food Laboratory has been received by the court Provided that where the part of the sample sent by the court to the Director of the Central Food Laboratory is lost or damaged, the court shall require the Local Health Authority to forward the part of the sample, if any, retained by it to the court and on receipt thereof, the court shall proceed in the manner provided in sub-section 2B .
2D Until the receipt of the certificate of the result of the analysis from the Director of the Central Food Laboratory, the court shall not continue with the proceedings pending before it in relation to the prosecution.
2E If, after considering the report, if any, of the food inspector or otherwise, the Local Health Authority is of the opinion that the report delivered by the public analyst under sub-section 1 is erroneous, the said Authority shall forward one of the parts of the sample kept by it to any other public analyst for analysis and if the report of the result of the analysis of that part of the sample by that other public analyst is to the effect that the article of food is adulterated, the provisions of sub-sections 2 to 2D shall, so far as may be, apply.
The certificate issued by the Director of the Central Food Laboratory under sub-section 2B shall supersede the report given by the public analyst under sub-section 1 .
Where a certificate obtained from the Director of the Central Food Laboratory under sub-section 2B is produced in any proceeding under this Act, or under sections 272 to 276 of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860 , it shall not be necessary in such proceeding to produce any part of the sample of food taken for analysis.
Any document purporting to be a report signed by a public analyst, unless it has been superseded under sub-section 3 , or any document purporting to be a certificate signed by the Director of the Central Food Laboratory, may be used as evidence of the facts stated therein in any proceeding under this Act or under sections 272 to 276 of the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860 Provided that any document purporting to be a certificate signed by the Director of the Central Food Laboratory not being a certificate with respect to the analysis of the part of the sample of any article of food referred to in the proviso to sub-section 1A of section 16 shall be final and conclusive evidence of the facts stated therein. Explanation.In this section, and in clause f of sub-section l of section 16, Director of the Central Food Laboratory shall include the officer for the time being in charge of any Food Laboratory by whatever designation he is known recognised by the Central Government for the purposes of this section.