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TMI Blog1989 (1) TMI 222X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... But in the context of the present statute, it would be a strain on the statutory language and the statutory-scheme to include “Supari” in the form in which it was sold within “Fruit-Products” as understood in clause (f) of Rule 29. The first contention has, accordingly, no substance. The second contention is that petitioner had acted bonafide on a particular understanding of the Rule 29 (7) which could not be said to be wholly implausible and that, therefore, even if that understanding is found to be defective, he should be entitled to the benefit of the doubt. Appeal dismissed. - 26 of 1989 - - - Dated:- 17-1-1989 - Ranganath Misra and M.N. Venkatachaliah, JJ. REPRESENTED BY: Mr. V.B. Ganatra and Mr. V.N. Ganpule, Advocates, for the Appellant. Mr. Girish Chandra, Mr. M.N. Shroff and Mr. M.N. Goswami, Advocates, for the Respondents. [Judgment per : Venkatachaliah, J.]. - By this petition for grant of Special Leave under Article 136 of the Constitution, coming up after notice to the State of Gujarat, the applicant seeks leave to appeal to this Court from the judgment of the High Court of Gujarat in Criminal Appeal No. 1097 of 1980 restoring the conviction a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sh Chandara and Shri M.V. Goswami, learned counsel for Respondents 1 and 2, respectively. Though a number of grounds are taken in the memorandum of the Petition for special leave, however, at the hearing Shri Ganatra confined his submission only to one aspect of the matter which, if accepted as correct, would go to the root of the case for the prosecution. Apparently, this contention in the form in which it is presented here was not placed before the High Court as we find no reference to it in the judgment. Appellant s learned Counsel contended that Supari or Betel-nut is basically and essentially an yield of the Areca-Palm and must, therefore, be held to fall under Fruit-products within the meaning of Rule 29(f) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955, ( Rules for short) and accordingly, the use of permitted coal-tar food-colours in it is not prohibited by law. It was further urged that the Public-Analyst had not held that the Yellow basic coal-tar dye , found in the sample, was not one of those food-colours prohibited under Rule 28 and that, therefore, its use in Supari which was a Fruit-product cannot be said to be prohibited. Alternatively, Shri Ganatra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hibits the use of even the coal-tar food-colours permitted under Rule 28 in or upon any food other than those enumerated in Rule 29. Fruit-Products is one such item of food so enumerated under clause (f) of Rule 29. The result is that permitted coal-tar food-colours, i.e. food-colours permitted by Rule 28, can be used if the food-articles in question are Fruit-Products as understood in Rule 29(f). But this exception from prohibition, in favour of Fruit-Products is further subject to such exceptions or restrictions as are otherwise made in Appendix B . Shri Ganatra s contention is that there having been no provision otherwise made in Appendix B in respect of supari and supari being includible in Fruit-Products , the use in it of permitted coal-tar food-colours is not prohibited. Shri Ganatra submits that the legislation being penal the expression Fruit-Products in Rule 29(f) should receive a reasonably liberal construction and that, so construed, Supari would reasonably admit of being considered such a Fruit-Product . 6. We have had our attention drawn by Shri Ganatra to certain passages in Common Trees of India by Dr. Santatau (at page 111); in Wealth of India R ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e nature of an exception to Rule 29(7). Under the relevant head in Appendix B items referred are: Fruit Juice ; Tomato Juice ; Fruit Syrup";" Fruit Squash , Fruit Beverage , or Fruit Drinks "; Tomato Sauce ; Tomato Ketchup ; Tomato Relish , Marmalade ; Fruit Chatni ; Sauce etc. The object and the purpose of the Act are to eliminate the danger to human life from the sale of unwholesome articles of food. The legislation is on the Topic Adulteration of Food Stuffs and other Goods [Entry 18 List III Seventh Schedule]. It is enacted to curb the widespread evil of food adulteration and is a legislative measure for social-defence. It is intended to suppress a social and economic mischief - an evil which attempts to poison, for monetary gains, the very sources of sustenance of life and the well-being of the community. The evil of adulteration of food and its effects on the health of the community are assuming alarming proportions. The offence of adulteration is a socio-economic offence. In Municipal Corpn. v. Kacheroo Mal (1976 (2) SCR 1 (4)] Sarkaria J. said: The Act has been enacted to curb and remedy the widespread evil of food-adulteration, and to ensure the sale ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aneous-matter of significantly higher or lower specific-gravity than that of the peas. This process was also strengthened and supplemented by visual-inspections by properly trained and experienced employees who worked for short periods to enable sustained concentration along the conveyor-belt carrying the peas to the canning site. To the strange ill luck and embarrassment of Smedleys Ltd. the larva which had a specific-gravity and size similar to that of the peas beat the screening-machine and also managed, by virtue of its colour and shape, to escape the surveillance of the alert visual-inspectors, who, it is said, were also paid a bonus if they detected and extracted any extraneous-matter. The peas, incidentally, would be pressure-cooked for 20 minutes at 250 F which, would render the larva harmless to human health even if consumed. The company contended that the existence of the larva was despite every possible precaution and was an unavoidable consequence of the process of collection and preparation within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Act. The defence did not succeed. Smedleys as well as the seller were convicted. The House of Lords confirmed the conviction. Lord Hailsh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... problems with which the country is confronted. The greater the degree of social danger, the more likely is the offence to be interpreted as one of strict liability. Inflation, drugs, road accidents and pollution are constantly brought to our attention as pressing evils; and in each case the judges have at times invoked strict liability as a protection for society. [para 92] 9. We now come to the specific question whether supari is includible under Fruit-Products under Rule 29(f). Shri Girish Chandra says that in arriving at the meaning of Fruit-Products , it is not the technical or scientific sense, but the sense as understood in common-parlance that matters. That sense is one, Shri Girish Chandra says, which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the statute is dealing would I attribute to it. The words must be understood, says counsel, in their popular sense, in their common commercial understanding, for the legislature does not suppose our merchant to be naturalists or geologists or botanists. The standard of the test for ascertaining the meaning of words in common-parlance is set by the Candanian case in Planters Nut and Chocolate Co. Ltd. v. The King ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ined by the courts and to substitute the opinion of the person charged with the breach of the law for the law itself. Otherwise, the consequence would be that whenever a defendent in a criminal case thought that the law was thus and so, he is to be treated as though the law was thus and so, that is, the law actually is thus and so . [See Criminal Law : Smith Hogan p. 70]. Justice Holmes in United States v. Wurzbach [(1930) 280 US 396 at 399] said : Wherever the law draws a line there will be cases very near each other on opposite sides. The precise course of the line may be uncertain, but no one can come near it without knowing that he does so, if he thinks, and if he does so it is familiar to the criminal law to make him take the risk." Referring to the principles that guide the matter, learned authors in Criminal Law (Smith Hogan) say : ...for, in the great majority of cases, it is irrelevant whether he knows it or not. It must usually be proved that D intended to cause, or was reckless whether he caused, the event or state of affairs which, as a matter of fact, is forbidden by law; but it is quite immaterial to his conviction (though it may affect his punishment) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ich is often enough not adulterated by them and the wholesalers and manufacturers who really adulterate the food stuff and fatten themselves on the misery of others escape the arm of the law... [para 1117] ...The result is that a wrong impression is being created on the public mind that the law is being properly enforced, whereas in fact what is really happening is that it is only the small tradesmen who are quite often not themselves responsible for adulteration who are caught and sent to jail while there is no effective enforcement of the law against the real adulterators. This is a falling which we notice in the implementation of many of our laws. It is only the smaller flies which get caught in the web of these laws while the bigger ones escape... [para 1118] ...The implementation of the law does create an impression that it is a law meant to be operative only against the smaller men and that the rich and the well-to-do are beyond its reach. Moreover the law operates very harshly against the small tradesmen because a minimum sentence is provided and the small tradesmen are liable to be sent to jail... [pp. 1118-19] (Emphasis Supplied) Krishna Iyer J. in Inderjeet v ..... 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